There scarcely seems to be a country left in the world that Donald Trump will not piss off. After horrifying the globe by pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement, now he and his namesake golf resort are going after Scotland. Specifically, the Scots’ beloved beverage: not scotch, but Irn-Bru, a tough-to-pronounce (unless you’re Scottish) fizzy drink that doubles as a hangover cure. It’s the country’s best-selling drink, more popular than Coca-Cola. The Takeout’s Kate Bernot reports that the Irn-Bru had quite a loyal following when she worked at Al’s Deli back in college, and tasted basically like sugar doused with bubble gum. (Fortunately, there’s also a sugar-free version.)
For whatever reason, the drink is colored a bright, iridescent orange, and is apparently quite staining. So CNN and other outlets point out that “Reports that Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire has removed the bright orange fizzy drink, which is more popular than Coca-Cola in Scotland, from sale over fears that the beverage could permanently stain the resort’s expensive carpets has been a trending topic in the United Kingdom on Twitter.” We can see why the country is so upset: It would be like pulling Old Style from Wrigley Field, cheese steaks from Philly, Earl Grey tea from England. No wonder the Scots are outraged. It’s not that all of them are racing to darken the doorstep of the Trump club; it’s the outright rejection of the Scotland’s regional culture, in favor of pricey carpets. Fortunately, those social posts are pretty funny, even as they are orange-fueled with vitriol, saying Trump has “declared war on Scotland.” For example:
The fact that this drink is being pulled by a company led by a man who appears to be dyed orange himself is a bit ironic, to say the least. You’d think he would co-opt it as his own signature beverage.