Protestors rally near Donald Trump's Balmedie golf course with signs saying 'make Aberdeenshire great again'
Mr Trump is currently in Scotland on a four-day 'private' trip, visiting his golf courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire.
He arrived in the north-east this evening, along with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The highly publicised trip is atypical for a sitting US president to make, but Mr Trump is here to open his latest golf course, Trump International Scotland, near Balmedie.
The Macleod course is named after his Scottish mother and has been in the works for years.
However, Mr Trump's visit to Aberdeenshire has been met with backlash and protests, along with heightened security in several places, including Lossiemouth and Balmedie.
Dozens of protestors marched from the White Horse Bar down to the border of the US President's golf course.
Jenna Halpin, from Aberdeen, also attended a previous protest in the city at the weekend.
She said: 'I am disgusted that this visit has been allowed to be honest.
'The fact that it's costing so many millions of pounds for this man to go on a golf jolly is ridiculous.
'There is so much going on in the world. The fact is he and Starmer are sitting having lunch while children in Gaza starve.
'Everything about the man stinks, and we need to show him he is not welcome here.'
Jenna says people who have been quiet before are now speaking out.
Protestors brought an array of creative signs on their march, including inventing the term 'MAGA' into 'Make Aberdeenshire Great Again'.
Others included 'Children starve, Trump plays golf' and 'Food not bombs'.
Two protestors even brought Trump-themed toilet brushes with them.
Luca Quinn told the Press and Journal why he decided to come from Fife to protest.
He said: 'I just wanted the opportunity to show that we Scots want nothing to do with Donald Trump.
'Having him in our country goes against everything I hold dear.
'The state of his country at the moment, he should really be there and not coming anywhere near ours.'
Luca added: 'It's infuriating the number of police officers here today.
'He should be footing the bill himself.'
Many of the protestors echoed those same thoughts that the money spent on policing and security could have been better spent.
One protester said: 'Trump is the figurehead for a lot of the awful things going on in the world at the moment, and we should not be inviting him into our country.
'Security has been really over the top.
'Considering he's only spending 24 hours at Balmedie, the beach has been shut for four days.
'It doesn't seem proportionate.'
The latest demonstration comes after a large protest took place over the weekend in Aberdeen city centre.
A crowd gathered outside Union Terrace Gardens to voice their opposition to the visit, with key north-east representatives including MSP Maggie Chapman in attendance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
6 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
JetBlue flight to Orlando forced to make emergency landing in NYC after engine is ‘completely destroyed and torched out'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A JETBLUE passenger plane with more than 150 people on board was forced to make an emergency landing after experiencing engine issues. The plane, en-route to Orlando, was forced to divert to New York's Kennedy airport just an hour into the flight last Wednesday. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 A JetBlue plane was forced to make an emergency landing after suffering engine issues Credit: Getty 3 The plane circled around Long Island before landing at Kennedy airport in New York Credit: FlightAware The jet had left Long Island MacArthur airport in Islip at around 1:45pm but moments after take-off, the captain warned that one of the Airbus A320's engines had gone. They then declared an emergency and requested to land. The plane circled around Long Island before touching down at JFK airport around an hour into the flight. A runway inspector on the ground at JFK said one of the plane's engines was 'completely destroyed,' as reported by Newsday. read more on news PATH TO PEACE Trump RULES OUT US troops in Ukraine & reveals America's role after the war 'It looks like the entire surface got torched out,' they said. ' I can actually see right through the engine almost.' Around 167 people were on board the aircraft, according to officials. Passengers were evacuated once the aircraft was towed to a stand. No injuries were reported. The cause of the engine failure remains unknown at this time. Flight instructors have hailed the pilot for their response. American Airlines steals march on rivals with first non-stop flight to destination that has little-known Hollywood link "A very impressive outcome to land the aircraft safely, the absolute worst time for engine failure is right after takeoff because the aircraft is heavier with fuel and is full of passengers," Michael Canders told News12. Up to 180 passengers can fit on board the Airbus A320 aircraft and it can reach top cruising speeds of around 520mph. The mid-air scare comes just weeks after a United plane heading to Germany was forced to divert after experiencing engine troubles. The pilot was forced to declare a Mayday emergency after a problem with the left engine arose. The flight, which was carrying 219 passengers, was forced to land at Washington Dulles airport - just 30 minutes after it had taken off. Meanwhile in Montana, two small planes crashed into each other on an airfield, sparking a huge inferno. A single-engine plane with four people on board was trying to land at the Kalispell City airport but the pilot lost control. The aircraft then hit parked planes that were on the runway. The impact of the crash sparked an explosion, leaving locals stunned. "It sounded like if you were to stick your head in a bass drum and somebody smacked it as hard as they could," Ron Danielson, a local inn manager, told the Associated Press. Last month, three people were killed after a private plane crashed off the coast of California. A twin-engine Beech 95-B55 Baron aircraft disappeared from the radar just 20 minutes after leaving San Carlos airport, located near the San Francisco Bay.
Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sir Keir Starmer urges sanctions on Putin over meeting with Zelensky
Sir Keir Starmer yesterday led calls to force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table after Europe's unprecedented White House diplomacy put the ball back in the Russian dictator's court. The Prime Minister suggested possible sanctions for Putin after co-chairing a virtual Coalition of the Willing meeting, debriefing their day trip to Washington DC and planning for the future. US President Donald Trump also warned of a 'rough situation' if Moscow does not make peace as he pushed for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to meet Putin in Switzerland in the next two weeks. A Downing Street spokesman said last night: 'The leaders discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.' German chancellor Friedrich Merz laid down the gauntlet to the Kremlin over any potential talks, saying: 'We don't know whether the Russian president will have the courage to attend such a summit.' Hinting at more sanctions as Russia again barraged Ukrainian cities with 270 drones and ten missiles in an overnight attack, he added: 'Therefore, persuasion is needed.' It followed Monday's extraordinary meeting in Washington where Mr Zelensky and the US President were joined by Sir Keir, chancellor Merz and the leaders of France, Italy, Finland, the EU and Nato. Sir Keir hailed a 'breakthrough' after the unprecedented gathering garnered a US commitment to military involvement in security guarantees for Ukraine. Mr Zelensky hopes to have such a proposal in writing within the next ten days to strengthen his hand before heading to any meeting with Putin to discuss territory. The US administration's unorthodox, realpolitik negotiations offer the most significant hope of bringing peace to Europe since Russia's invasion in February 2022. But there remains real fear in Ukraine that they could be sold out as the White House seems loath to pressure Moscow with sanctions and military might, instead turning the screws diplomatically on Kyiv. Ukrainian journalist Peter Zalmayev told the Daily Mail: 'The message that Ukraine and Europe need to get through to Trump is that his getting the Nobel Peace Prize depends not on whether he ends the war in Ukraine, but on how he ends it.' Mr Trump broke off Monday's talks to call Putin and update him on progress, during which the two superpowers agreed to set up a bilateral meeting between the Russian tyrant and Mr Zelensky. The President was typically bullish afterwards, saying the two adversaries are 'getting along a little bit better than I thought' despite 'tremendous bad blood'. He told Fox News that 'otherwise I wouldn't have set up the [bilateral] meeting, I would've set up a three – a trilat'. But he cautioned: 'We're going to find out about president Putin in the next couple of weeks... It's possible he doesn't want to make a deal.' He added: 'I hope president Putin is going to be good and if he's not, then it's going to be a rough situation. And I hope that Zelensky will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also. The thing is a mess.' Yesterday, the Kremlin appeared to be dragging its heels over the plan, which would see a meeting with Mr Trump follow the one-on-one between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state TV: 'Without respect for Russia's security... without full respect for the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people who live in Ukraine, there can be no talk of any long-term agreements.' Further muddying the waters, a source in Mr Trump's administration claimed it was Putin who suggested a meeting without the US President. During their call, Putin told Mr Trump: 'You don't have to come – I want to see him one on one,' Politico reported. It was also claimed Putin suggested they meet in Moscow – a clear non-starter for Kyiv, with Geneva one possible venue. The Swiss confirmed that if Putin was visiting for peace talks, the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for the dictator would not be acted upon.
Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Spectator
Trump must not give Kim Jong Un the recognition he craves
When dealing with rogue states, being pessimistic often means being realistic. The much-anticipated summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin last week allowed the Russian leader to relish the bright Alaskan lights of summitry with Trump, buy the precious commodity of time, all while maintaining his ambition to defeat Ukraine. Amidst this week's numerous meetings between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a resolution to the Ukraine war remains elusive. But we must not forget that hours before Trump and Putin met in Alaska, another high-level meeting took place in Pyongyang between Kim Jong Un and the Chairman of Russia's state Duma. It was a stark reminder that ending the Ukraine war on the battlefield is not going to end the ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. The date of 15 August 2025 now holds significance for the trajectory of the Ukraine war, but whether it marks the start of a drawn-out process of negotiations between Moscow, Washington, and Kyiv or continued lip service from Putin remains to be seen. Yet for different reasons, 15 August is also a day of commemoration on the Korean Peninsula, signifying the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule as the second world war neared its conclusion. Unusually, it is one of the only public holidays celebrated across both sides of the Demilitarised Zone. For North Korea, the occasion is a moment to chastise the once-imperial power of Japan, and – on some but not all years – host military parades in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square. After all, according to North Korea's false narrative, Kim Il Sung led an anti-Japanese guerrilla movement all by himself in the 1930s. In South Korea, 15 August marks the day the country became a separate state to the communist North in 1948 and often witnesses the South Korean president outlining their vision for inter-Korean relations and, of course, their relations with Japan. Hours before Trump and Putin were to meet, the visit by yet another confidante of Putin to Pyongyang only stressed how the Ukraine war is not over and any deal acceptable to all sides is a long way off. It was not just Trump who would roll out the red carpet for Putin. Kim Jong Un would do the same to Vyacheslav Volodin, who would later deliver a letter to the North Korean leader from Putin himself, thanking him for North Korea's military support in his fight against Ukraine. This week's meetings between Trump, Zelenskyy, and European Union leaders make clear that whilst the interests most directly at stake in the war remain those of Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington, there are other parties. The escalating North Korea-Russia relationship – which Kim Jong Un once again described as 'invincible' – has meant that South Korea is no longer a peripheral observer to the war. With military and missile technology likely heading from Moscow to Pyongyang – which will be relished by North Korea in helping to develop its nuclear and missile capabilities – a swift conclusion to the war is firmly in Seoul's interests. Yet, although South Korea has supplied tanks, howitzers, and FA-50 fighter jets to Poland, which subsequently transfers the arms to Ukraine, Seoul remains reluctant to supply lethal assistance directly. Just over a week after having met Putin, Zelenskyy, and Western leaders, Trump will host South Korea's leftist President Lee Jae-myung in Washington on 25 August for the first summit between the two leaders. Whilst the infamous tariffs – which negotiations between Seoul and Washington have reduced to 15 per cent – will dominate talks, another topic of discussion will be the US-South Korean alliance amidst Trump's calls for South Korea to pay more for the US's extended deterrence and security guarantee. How to deal with the intractable issue of North Korea will also likely feature at a time when left-wing Lee has proclaimed that South Korea does not seek to 'absorb' the North and wishes to 'usher in a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula'. Speaking of peace on the Korean Peninsula is all well and good, but akin to the case of Russia, Seoul must not underestimate Pyongyang's penchant and strategy for continued delinquency. For all Trump's intentions to meet Kim Jong Un and Lee's calls for reconciliation and dialogue with Seoul's northern neighbour, Seoul and Washington must make clear how the world cannot give Kim Jong Un what he wants, namely international recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state. The easy way to convince North Korea to improve its behaviour may be to ease sanctions, but Seoul and Washington must resist this time-old urge. Giving Pyongyang benefits will only lead to further abuse, a logic which can also apply to Russia. There is no such thing as a free lunch. As global eyes were fixed on Alaska, Kim Jong Un lauded the 'friendship and unity' between North Korean and Russian soldiers in the ongoing fight against 'a mutual enemy'. Identifying this undefined mutual enemy, however, was no Sisyphean task: it was not just Ukraine or the United States but also the broader West. For as long as we must wait for the next Trump-Putin or Trump-Kim meeting – in Moscow or elsewhere – Russia and its allies will not relent in forging a 'coalition of the willing', united in their opposition of the United States, its allies, and its leadership of international order. For this reason, the West cannot capitulate.
