Trump touches down in Scotland for unofficial visit

Donald Trump has landed in the UK for a five-day trip around Scotland.

The US president touched down at Prestwick Airport at 8.28pm this evening and was met by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray.

He then headed off to his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.

The visit has been described as a ‘private’ trip, before he returns for an official state visit in September.

He will travel to golf courses across Scotland while also fitting in high-stakes meetings with the Prime Minister and the Scottish First Minister.

Trump will then fly out of Scotland on Tuesday.

Why is Trump visiting the UK?

The US President has a personal connection to Scotland.

His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis before moving to New York aged 18.

He is expected to open up a new 18-hole course dedicated to his mother at his Menie resort.

Trump also owns the Turnberry hotel and three linked courses in Ayrshire, which he bought for about £40million in 2014.

The US President has made several visits to Scotland in the past, often to visit his late mother’s home or to play golf on one of his courses.

Where will be he visiting?

Other than visiting his two golf courses in Scotland, Trump is due to meet Keir Starmer in Aberdeen on Monday.

Trump’s press secretary said the meeting was intended to ‘refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom’.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney has also said he is meeting the US president.

Swinney publicly backed Kamala Harris for the presidency last year, but Trump called him a ‘good man’ before embarking on the trip.

He plans to raise a number of domestic and international issues including tariffs on Scotch whisky and conflict in the Middle East.

Trump is also due to meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The US and EU are currently locked in trade negotiations over tariffs, with agreement reportedly close to being reached.

What does his visit mean?

Trump’s visit could strengthen the relationship between Starmer and the US president, as they look set to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Conflict in the Middle East could also take center stage, just days after France announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state.

Starmer said on Thursday the Palestinian people have the ‘inalienable’ right to a state, while Trump criticised Macron’s plan, saying it ‘doesn’t carry any weight’.

The US president will also be hoping the trip brings him some time out of the spotlight back home.

A political crisis has erupted over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and seen Trump take heat from his usually loyal MAGA supporters.

The president once promised to release the files, but the Justice Department and FBI since announced that ‘no incriminating “client list”‘ existed.

It was then sensationally reported by The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s name appears in the files.

What protests are planned against Trump’s visit?

There will be a ‘festival of resistance’, organized by the Scottish wing of the Stop Trump Coalition.

This will kick off a day after his arrival – on Saturday – and will be held in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

An Ipsos poll in March found that about 70% of Scots have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion.

The protests will be the prelude for even larger demonstrations in London planned by the group when Trump lands on his state visit in September.

There are also plans to relaunch the Donald Trump baby balloon, which became a symbol of protests against the controversial leader on his first state visit in July 2018.

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