Palestine protestors heckle Donald Trump's helicopter

The Herald Scotland

5 days ago

Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the region, around 100 protestors assembled outside the White Horse Inn in bucolic Balmedie, surrounded by a sea of national and international press.
Demonstrators gather outside the White Horse Inn. (Image: Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco) After a series of speeches, the group marched along leafy streets and woodland walks towards the town's park.
Uniformed police blocked roads and diverted traffic as the group made their way through the small town, as curious locals looked on, snapping photos and rubbernecking from passing cars.
Stopping for lunch at a nearby cafe prior to the protest, the police presence was easy to spot – a large van full of bored-looking officers sat prominently in the corner of the car park.
'I think he's done more for the local economy with all the negative publicity than he did during all his years building the golf course,' a friendly woman behind the counter said.
Indeed, the cafe was nearly full, as fellow journalists and their photographer companions lunched on cheese toasties and cups of tea.
Protestors waved Palestinian flags. (Image: Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco) Later, at the White Horse, protestors were more than happy to chat.
'Trump doesn't deserve to be here,' the Loch Ness sign woman said. 'The people of Scotland don't deserve this to happen here.'
'I blame Alex Salmond,' her companion added.
'Aberdeenshire Council voted against him and Alex Salmond overturned their decision.'
Indeed, the Scottish Government's decision to allow Mr Trump to build a golf course at the sprawling Menie Estate, which opened in 2012, came as a surprise to many, especially given the ecologically fragile sand dunes surrounding the area.
Indeed, as Mr Trump returns to the region to open a second course, the sullen memory of his first remains.
Nicola Seal, a former ecologist and mum of two, organised the event.
Between directions issued from a loudspeaker, she told The Herald: 'As an ecologist, I know how very vulnerable and fragile those dune systems are.
'When I heard that he was building a golf course here, I was absolutely appalled. We don't need another golf course, and we certainly don't need one built by him.
'It's an extremely expensive golf course that makes a massive loss anyway.'
I asked Seal what she thinks about Mr Trump's appeals to his Scottish roots.
She said: 'I think he's the least Scottish person in the world. Scottish values are about inclusivity and tolerance.
'We are historically a very tolerant and inclusive and left leaning society. And he is as far away from that as you can possibly get.'
Two people unfurled a banner asking Mr Trump a series of questions. (Image: Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco) Seal added: 'It's an absolute joke that he goes on about his Scottish roots. I mean, I'm more Scottish than he is and I'm bloody English.
'He should sod off. The way he uses that as justification for coming and ruining our countryside and then making demands of our leaders and telling us what to do.'
'We need renewable energy and the world works on immigrants. We welcome immigrant labour into Scotland because we need it.
'He doesn't represent Scottish values, he's the antithesis of everything that is Scottish.'
Finishing their march in a car park in Balmedie Country Park, protestors were in full view of uniformed police stationed in the dunes surrounding Mr Trump's golf course.
There, demonstrators shouted slogans and waved flags as they awaited Mr Trump's arrival.
However, an extensive press conference at Turnberry, in which the notoriously long-winded president spoke on a range of topics, from Scottish independence to whisky tariffs, resulted in the day's schedule being pushed back.
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An original arrival time of 4.30 pm was soon abandoned.
While some of the protestors went home, grumbling about the president's lack of punctuality, others sat down to eat packed dinners and chat with friends, refusing to let Mr Trump off the hook.
'Why is his visit so expensive?' one woman, who travelled cross country from Glasgow, asked her companion. 'With all the poverty going on, surely that money could be put to better use.'
Around 4.45 pm, the remaining protestors, perhaps a dozen or so, scaled one of the beach's dunes, unfurling a large Palestinian flag on top of the hillside.
'We couldn't let him turn up without anyone to greet him,' one demonstrator quipped. 'It would seem like no one cared.'
There, they awaited the arrival of Mr Trump. As the minutes stretched to hours, they continued to wait.
Finally, at half past 6, the rumble of helicopter blades echoed across the horizon.
And the assembled roared in their disgust, high atop the highest dune.