What do we know about Donald Trump's visit to Scotland?

BBC News

6 days ago

Donald Trump flies into Scotland on Friday for a four-day trip, his first visit to the UK since his re-election.The US president is due to visit his golf resorts at Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast and Menie in Aberdeenshire.The White House has described the visit as a "private" trip and said he will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.The Scottish government has confirmed that First Minister John Swinney will also meet the president.Trump is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.Questions have already been raised about the scale of the visit and the security implications, with police representatives raising concern about both the costs involved and the impact on staffing.
Why is President Trump coming to Scotland?
The fact this is not an official state visit means President Trump is largely free to set his own schedule.The main purpose appears to be to visit his two golf courses - Trump International at Menie in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire. Trump opened the former in 2012 and bought Turnberry two years later.He has been a regular visitor to both courses over the years, the last time being in 2023 when he broke ground on a second course at the site in Aberdeenshire.Trump's connections to Scotland are well-documented.His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised just outside Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis. A native Gaelic speaker, she moved to New York aged 18, where she later married businessman Fred Trump.The president has visited her former home in Tong more than once and has often spoken of his love of his mother's home country.His investments have brought jobs to both his businesses in Scotland, though the scale of these have been disputed.What's clear, however, is that he retains a close interest in them, though serving presidents are meant - by convention - to step back from running any businesses while occupying the White House.
When is President Trump coming to Scotland?
The president is expected to arrive some time on Friday, and travel back to the US on Tuesday 29 July.His schedule has not been made public but he is expected to split his time between his two Scottish bases at Turnberry and Menie.The length of the trip and the relative lack of programmed meetings is a contrast to the forthcoming state visit, which will be a much more formal affair, from 17 to 19 September.On that occasion, he and First Lady Melania Trump will stay at Windsor Castle as the guests of the King and Queen.
Who is President Trump meeting in Scotland?
Earlier this month, the president's press secretary told reporters at the White House that Trump would meet the prime minister in "Aberdeen" on Monday. Karoline Leavitt said the meeting with Starmer would "refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom".However, the Menie resort is about 10 miles (16km) north of the city and Downing Street has yet to confirm details of the proposed meeting, including where it will take place and what will be discussed.Swinney later said he had decided to meet the president on his trip because it was in Scotland's interests to do so. He said there were a number of domestic and international issues which were of interest to the people of Scotland including the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the imposition of tariffs on products such as Scotch whisky.A Scottish government spokesperson said the president's visit would be an opportunity to "promote the interests of Scotland".Swinney previously said he did not see how September's state visit could go ahead in the wake of President Trump's showdown with Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House in February.Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie described John Swinney's decision to meet President Trump as "tragic".He said: "There can be no excuses for trying to cosy up to his increasingly fascist political agenda."
What will President Trump's security be like?
Presidential visits are enormous affairs and the security operation which will accompany Trump and his family is formidable.Air Force One - the president's jet - is a heavily-defended flying White House. The presidential motorcade, which includes two identical limousines and more than 20 other security and communications vehicles, is transported ahead of the visit by United States Air Force transport aircraft.On the ground, the president travels in Cadillac One - an armoured, high-powered enhanced limousine known as "The Beast". And there will have to be an enhanced police presence, taken from the ranks of the host country's own forces. For the last state visit in June 2019, more than 6,300 UK police officers were deployed at a cost to London's Metropolitan Police of £3.4m. A previous four-day working visit in 2018 cost more than £14.2m.Trump's 2018 trip to Scotland is thought to have seen more than 5,000 officers deployed, with the UK Treasury chipping in about £5m to help with the costs.So there are already concerns about how much this "private" trip will cost Scotland, especially against a backdrop of police complaints about spending on the force.The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, has raised concerns about what the Trump visit will mean for its members.Police Scotland confirmed it was preparing for a presidential visit earlier this month.The Scottish government said it had been working with the national force to put plans in place, with thousands of officers likely to be deployed as part of the security operation.
Will there be protests against President Trump?
President Trump is probably the most high-profile individual ever to visit Scotland. He's also at constant risk.There was an attempt on his life during the 2024 election and a man has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president after being found with a rifle at a golf course in Florida in September 2024.These are at the higher end of the risks facing security teams guarding the most powerful man on earth.Much of the coming visit's police resources will be taken up with balancing the right to democratic protest with the president and his entourage's ability to travel safely around Scotland.The last presidential visit made by Trump in 2018 required a major security operation, with thousands protesting in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.Trump was booed during an afternoon game of golf by demonstrators gathered along the the perimeter at Turnberry.A paraglider also flew over the hotel with a banner criticising the president.There will undoubtedly be more protests this time around. Among those who have vowed to be out on the streets is Scottish Green leadership contender Ross Greer, who called the president a "dangerous extremist".He told the BBC that he would be protesting "in solidarity with the people in the US and across the world who are already suffering as a result of Donald Trump".Police Scotland have said they have the resources to deal with whatever the visit brings.