Britain's 'MAGA summer': Donald Trump and JD Vance lead red-cap brigade enjoying time in the UK this summer... to the horror of Ellen DeGeneres
While the US President touched down in Scotland this week for the opening of a new 18-hole golf course at his estate in Aberdeenshire, vice president Vance is expected to rent a holiday cottage in the Cotswolds next month.
His upcoming trip comes much to the dismay of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who abandoned her Californian lifestyle to enjoy a quieter life in the Cotswolds with wife Portia de Rossi in November 2024.
DeGeneres revealed their move to the English countryside was prompted by last year's US election, specifically the re-election of Trump.
The former talk show host is reportedly planning a two-week break from her adopted home when Vance visits with his family in August.
And with Trump back on British soil again in September for an unprecedented second state visit, one Republican told The Times that the UK is facing'a Maga British summer'.
Ms DeGeneres said last week that Trump's victory influenced her move to the UK.
'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis and I was like, ''He got in'',' she said. 'And we're like, ''We're staying here then''.'
Last week it was revealed she is selling one of her two Cotswolds properties for a cool £22.5million - £7.5million more than she paid for it.
The Cotswolds is a popular British holiday hotspot, and home to political powers like former Prime Minister David Cameron and celebrities such as the Beckhams.
The Vances were also in London before the 2024 US election, when they were given a personal tour of the British Museum by George Osborne, its chairman.
In 2011 Barack Obama took time out to visit his ancestral home in Moneygall, Ireland.
And in 2023 former US President Joe Biden embarked on a tour of Ireland, with the UK hardly getting a look-in. Rishi Sunak had to treck to Northern Ireland to meet him at the airport.
Trump is not only visiting the UK to play golf, as he also has important trade talks set up with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
As he touched down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire on Friday, Trump told Europe to 'get your act together' over illegal immigration - branding it a 'horrible invasion' that is 'killing Europe'.
Trump is set to meet Sir Keir and Scotland's First Minister John Swinney on Monday.
He will also enter trade talks with the EU chief this afternoon after officials from both sides said they were nearing an agreement.
But an EU diplomat claimed 'everyone is quite tense' - after Trump threatened 'you're not going to have Europe anymore' if illegal immigration continues.
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The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Has Labour made any progress at all on irregular migration?
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On the other hand, it is far lower than the number of migrants arriving on a visa, entirely lawfully – some 431,000 net (938,000 gross, both figures including students) – and has to be set in the context of the UK's total population of 69 million. The number of irregular migrants last year was equal to the population of Guildford. On balance, it is still the case that migration of all kinds into the UK has been running at historically high levels for some years. Why so high? In terms of the big picture, on total migration, it is simply that the UK suffers from chronic labour and skills shortages – there aren't sufficient young people to replace retirees, so that means there are not enough workers. In addition, there are not enough with the right skills and in locations where demand is high, while those who do have the skills required are not always willing to do the jobs that are available at current wage rates. In the case of asylum seekers, the recent run of calm weather has certainly pushed the flows higher, and there is no shortage of civil wars and collapsing societies that are pushing them towards the UK. The stories about the Afghan refugees that made headlines in July are an extreme example of a wider phenomenon. There are lots of perfectly genuine refugees, in other words, as well as those who just want a better life. Has the government smashed the gangs? Evidently not, and certainly not to the extent required to stop the boats, but the authorities have been given the 'counterterrorism-style powers' and resources that Keir Starmer promised them. At best, it will take time. What about the returns policy? The one-in, one-out deal with France would reduce irregular migration, but it would have no net impact on the overall numbers. It's also relatively small – initially 50 a week, as opposed to the 898 who arrived last Wednesday alone. What happened to 'safe and secure routes'? This idea was quietly dropped by Labour in the months before the election because it wouldn't actually get the numbers down, which is what it's all supposed to be about. Clearing the backlog? Again, it will take time. There were a large number of unprocessed asylum seekers who were due to be deported to Rwanda and were being kept in limbo in hotels, and the number still arriving is such that it's like trying to empty a bath while the taps are running. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, says she has taken on more people to process claims, and some have been returned, either by force (8,590 in the year to March) or voluntarily (26,388 in the same period). International obligations and domestic law, as well as humanitarian considerations, require that all claims be assessed, and again, it will necessarily take time if so many have been left unchecked for so long. Even summary deportation is problematic, and this can also take time if the country of origin refuses entry and there are no third countries available to accept someone. Why don't we use the Royal Navy to tow them back to France? It's not what the navy is for, but also the risk to life is great, and the number of small boats would make the task impossible. British warships or Border Force vessels cannot enter French sovereign waters without permission, and the French government would retaliate. The Royal Australian Navy did take migrants into international waters, but this isn't applicable in the narrow English Channel, so that's not practical either. Why use hotels? Simply because there's nowhere else to put them, and accommodating them in tents in fields, as suggested by the Reform mayor of Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, would cause even more problems. 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Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
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James Middleton shares rare video of 'cheeky' son Inigo as toddler plays with family dogs and hikes with his mother on sun-soaked holiday
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Daily Record
10 minutes ago
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Scotland's flagship indie beer festival returns to Glasgow with hundreds of beers to try
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