THE author of a new book on Donald Trump is to talk about his experience of the controversial president to readers of The Herald at an exclusive book event later this month.

Damian Bates, a journalist and former editor of the Evening Express in Aberdeen, co-wrote The Real Deal with George A Sorial, who worked for Trump for 12 years. The aim of the book was to offer an alternative view of the president.

Mr Bates will speak to Herald readers at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on October 28th in the first of a series of events staged by The Herald Book Club, which launched earlier this year. The Book Club offers a chance for readers to discuss books and meet some of their favourite authors.

In an interview with The Herald, Mr Bates, who has known the president since the tycoon and politician proposed building a golf course in Aberdeenshire 10 years ago, said he hoped readers would be offered an alternative view of Donald Trump.

“We’ve seen a lot of books by writers that claim to know Donald Trump but had never spoken to him,” said Mr Bates. “My view was: I’d known him over the years. We’re not saying this book is the Bible, we’re saying this is our view. Just read it and make your own mind up.”

Mr Bates added that his book was not a whitewash– he has seen the president’s bad temper for example and recognises the problem of his Twitter use.

“When he blows his top it’s not pleasant but it made me laugh because people would say ‘oh my God, he’s got a terrible temper’ but I’ve seen newspaper editors who are way worse. I’ve been pinned against a wall by an editor.

“The one thing I would say is you know where you stand with Trump. If we’re going to fight, it’s going to be dirty. I don’t mind that. Alex Salmond used to berate me down the phone but I used to enjoy the clarity you get from that.”

Speaking about the Herald event, Mr Bates said he was looking forward to the night and chatting about the most controversial man on the planet.

“I know he’s a polarising character,” he said, “but I’ve crossed paths and swords with him for more than a decade and I’ve got to know him pretty well - we argued on the phone regularly, had dinner often, including in The White House, and would discuss everything from global politics to interior design.

“The man I know is very different from the public and media perception and I hope people would like to hear a different view. You don’t have to agree, just try hearing an alternative for a change!”

Donald Martin, editor-in-chief of Newsquest Scotland and Editor of The Herald, Herald on Sunday and The Evening Times, said the event with Damian Bates was the first of a series of Book Club events. “We’re delighted to be staging this,” he said. “There will be regular events that will offer readers the chance to meet authors and talk to them about their books.”

Mr Bates, who is originally from Lancashire, has worked in newspapers all over the UK including 16 years in Scotland. When he was at the Press & Journal in Aberdeen, he published a column by Donald Trump. “I got battered for that,” he said. “Hate mail, death threats, but my view was ‘let’s give this guy the chance to speak’.”

He also said that, as a newspaper man, he felt uncomfortable that a balanced image of Donald Trump was not always being portrayed. “We’re so caught up in wanting to show the worst of people, particularly at that level, that we’re not prepared to go ‘let’s step back and there might be a different narrative’.”

The book also includes anecdotes that reveal more about Donald Trump’s time in Scotland and the people he encountered, including the former First Minister Alex Salmond. And Mr Bates reveals more about the planning and building of Trump’s golf course in Aberdeenshire. Some said the project would damage a Site of Special Scientific Interest, but Mr Bates says the project was good for the economy and the damage minimal.

“We sometimes cut off our nose to spite our face,” he said. “Less than four per cent of the SSSI was directly impacted. The area also relied on one industry – oil and gas – but diversification was critical for our survival and still is.”

Mr Bates also insists the opposition to the golf course from locals was exaggerated. “There was a vociferous minority,” he says, “but when I was at the Evening Express we did a survey of the local community and 82 per cent believed it was a project worth supporting.”

The Herald Book Club Evening is on Monday 28th October in the Grand Ballroom, Grand Central Hotel. The price is £35 which includes a signed book, worth £20, two glasses of wine, coffee and a selection of canapes. To book, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/75289808845/