Swinney Declines Trump's Invite Amid Election Campaign

0:00It's April 20th. Europe news today starts now, AI powered and always on. Scottish First Minister John Swinney just politely turned down a personal invite from President Donald Trump to a White House state banquet next week. The call happened on Monday, April 20th, and lasted about four minutes with the invitation right at the center of it. Scottish government officials confirmed the whole thing. Swinney took the call and his official role as First Minister, a position he holds straight through the upcoming election campaign. He had to pass because it clashes with heavy campaigning for next month's Holy Root elections up in Scotland. This banquet ties into the King and Queen's upcoming state visit to the U.S., making it a big diplomatic event. No word yet on how Trump took the know, but has got folks chatting about priorities during election season. Government spokespeople kept it simple, saying the First Minister had to bow out due to the election grind. No drama, just straight business as usual. With Holy Root votes looming, expect Swinney to stay laser focused on home turf while

1:03these international pings keep coming in.