Trump in Scotland: How’s his trip going and what’s on the agenda?

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When Donald Trump re-won the United States presidency successful past year’s election, the Dumfries and Galloway News successful Scotland greeted the quality with this headline: “South West Scotland Hotelier Becomes President Of America For Second Time”.

That much playful attack – a motion that the locals thought Trump, who owns luxury play courses successful Scotland, an amusement – present seems to person soured.

The National, Scotland’s pro-independence newspaper, greeted his accomplishment for a four-day sojourn this week with the pursuing headline: “Convicted US Felon To Arrive In Scotland”.

So wherefore is Trump visiting Scotland, and what’s connected the docket for his trip?

How has Trump been received successful Scotland?

Trump’s links to Scotland spell backmost to his mother.

While his father, Fred, was the lad of German immigrants, Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was a Scottish migrant to the US – calved successful the colony of Tong connected the Isle of Lewis.

Trump has made overmuch of this transportation and his emotion of Scotland, successful general, portion besides making expansive pledges astir what his play courses volition bash for tourism there.

On Friday, helium arrived successful the tiny Ayrshire colony of Turnberry, wherever helium headed disconnected for immoderate golf, earlier a gathering with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks connected commercialized connected Monday. Trump Turnberry has 2 play title courses – the Ailsa (four times big to the Open Championship) and King Robert the Bruce.

Turnberry, a tiny spot of astir 200 people, whitethorn person seemed similar a bully spot to flight wider troubles, arsenic well. Trump inactive can’t shingle disconnected speculation, including from galore successful his MAGA instrumentality base, astir his friendship with convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal claimed Trump had sent Epstein a day enactment featuring a bare pistillate and substance which read: “Happy Birthday – and whitethorn each time beryllium different fantastic secret.”

It reported that a publication fixed to Epstein successful 2003 included letters from some Trump and Bill Clinton.

On Friday, a Scottish newsman shouted astatine Trump: “Are you successful Scotland to flight ineligible problems?” He didn’t reply.

Some radical besides turned up to protestation against his sojourn to Scotland connected Friday. One protester successful Turnberry was holding a motion that read: “Scotland hated Trump earlier it was fashionable.” Other protestation signs were little polite.

Stephen Flynn, a Scottish National Party MP who is notably bald, said helium wouldn’t conscionable Trump since helium would beryllium engaged “washing his hair”.

Dominic Hinde, an writer and writer based successful Glasgow, said: “Scotland doesn’t request to kowtow to the White House successful the mode that the Westminster bubble does. We tin spend to beryllium rude successful a mode that Keir Starmer can’t. He played connected his Scottish routes and expected to beryllium welcomed similar a king each time. His reception has lone got worse and worse. We don’t privation overmuch to bash with his benignant of politics.”

Because of this fuss and an assassination attempt during his predetermination run past year, Turnberry became impermanent location to 5,000 constabulary officers, service trucks and roadworthy checkpoints connected Friday. This is the biggest and astir costly information cognition since the decease of Queen Elizabeth II.

Trump besides plans to sojourn his play people successful Balmedie, adjacent Aberdeen, arsenic good arsenic a caller people acceptable to unfastened successful August, during his four-day travel that is owed to extremity connected July 29.

Why are immoderate Scots aggravated with Trump?

A quality betwixt Trump and section radical began 14 years agone implicit a program to physique upwind turbines that would beryllium disposable from his play people successful Aberdeenshire. He wanted them halted, calling them “monstrosities” that would lone wounded tourism. He failed to halt the upwind farms, but helium remains against some upwind and star power.

During erstwhile talks, Trump has asked Starmer to ditch upwind and ramp up lipid production. He claims offshore upwind turbines are “driving the whales crazy”. But astir fractional of each Scotland’s energy comes from wind.

Trump’s play people successful Aberdeenshire has besides proved controversial. Conservation groups accidental the people has destroyed adjacent dunes. The people has besides struggled to marque a nett oregon employment arsenic galore radical arsenic had been hoped.

The Stop Trump Scotland protestation radical made its absorption to him wide connected Friday. It said: “The radical of Scotland don’t privation to rotation retired a invited mat for Donald Trump, whose authorities is accelerating the dispersed of clime breakdown astir the world.”

What volition Trump sermon with the UK’s premier minister?

Talks with Keir Starmer volition centre connected refining a US-UK commercialized woody made successful June, which acceptable a 10 percent tariff connected British goods going to the US.

It besides expanded entree to US goods successful the British marketplace and acceptable tariffs connected the archetypal 100,000 UK vehicles exported to the US annually astatine 10 percent, compared with 25 percent for different countries.

In 2024, the UK shipped astir 106,000 cars worthy 9 cardinal pounds ($12.1bn) – including luxury brands specified arsenic Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin, to the US, according to car manufacturers and the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The UK is present hoping to person a 25 percent tariff connected UK alloy and aluminium lowered, though that already compares favourably with a 50 percent work for the remainder of the satellite connected the aforesaid goods.

Philip Shaw, an economist astatine Investec successful London, said: “The UK is successful a comparatively bully presumption successful that Trump has raised astir tariffs connected UK exports by lone 10 percent and that Britain is facing a 10 percent tariff connected astir of its car exports, and not 25 percent levies, arsenic the bulk of different countries are. A bully effect would beryllium a tariff-free commercialized deal, but that would beryllium hard to execute successful mean circumstances, fto unsocial now.”

Trump has claimed that the UK gets a amended woody than different ample economies, saying astatine the Group of Seven (G7) acme successful June: “The UK is precise good protected. You cognize why? Because I similar them. That’s their eventual protection.”

On Friday Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “It’s successful Britain’s nationalist involvement to person beardown relations with the US medication and arsenic a effect of some that semipermanent peculiar relationship, but besides much importantly, the enactment that our Prime Minister Keir Starmer has done successful gathering that narration with President Trump has meant that we were the archetypal state successful the satellite to unafraid a commercialized deal.”

However, Kathleen Brooks, probe manager astatine UK concern radical XTB, said: “While the UK was ‘blessed’ with an aboriginal commercialized deal, it has not helped the UK’s economical predicament, arsenic yet.

“The information Trump has travel to Scotland arsenic the EU continues to hold for confirmation astir its tariff rates with the US is interesting. Trump besides has play courses successful Ireland, truthful his prime to sojourn Scotland could beryllium seen arsenic a rebuttal to the EU. It could besides deflect immoderate of the furore implicit the Epstein scandal.”

Some Trump acolytes person been captious of the UK successful general, saying it lacks state of code and that London has “no-go” zones. Starmer is thought improbable to bring specified matters up portion helium negotiates connected trade.

What other mightiness travel up?

Trump is besides owed to conscionable Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who has made affirmative noises, saying: “Scotland shares a beardown relationship with the United States that goes backmost centuries. The concern remains steadfast done economic, taste and ancestral links – including, of course, with the president himself.”

He has besides pledged to rise issues beyond trade, specified arsenic the wars successful Gaza and Ukraine.

Trump volition beryllium backmost successful the UK earlier excessively long, pursuing this visit. A authorities sojourn with First Lady Melania is planned for September 17, erstwhile the president volition beryllium expected to conscionable King Charles and Queen Camilla astatine Windsor Castle.

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