17 hours ago
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- Press and Journal
Protestors rally near Donald Trump's Balmedie golf course with signs saying 'make Aberdeenshire great again'
Protestors marched in Balmedie, just a stone's throw from Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf course, to protest the US president's visit.
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.
