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Donald Trump arrives in Scotland as Air Force One touches down in Prestwick

Donald Trump arrives in Scotland as Air Force One touches down in Prestwick

Scottish Suna day ago
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DONALD Trump has officially touched down at Prestwick Airport.
The US President, 79, arrived aboard Air Force One at around 8.30pm for his four-day private visit to Bonnie Scotland.
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The Republican chief made the journey on one of his two specially customised Boeing 747-200B jets, equipped with cutting-edge military technology and top-secret communications systems.
He is expected to be swiftly whisked away in his armoured motorcade to his exclusive Turnberry golf resort on the Ayrshire coast.
The convoy includes bulletproof Cadillacs, nicknamed "Beasts," which are designed to withstand rocket attacks and chemical warfare.
Trump is set to spend the weekend at his two golf resorts - Trump Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire.
During his stay, he will officially open his second course at Menie, named in honour of his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod.
His visit is expected to last until Tuesday, July 29.
The President is also scheduled to meet Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during his trip.
This visit comes ahead of Trump's official UK State Visit, planned for September.
A massive £5million security operation has been rolled out to ensure his safety, with around 6,000 police officers drafted in from across the UK to support the efforts.
His visit is expected to spark mass protests around his golf courses and in major Scottish cities.
Protesters hang off bridge in major demo ahead of Trump's Scotland visit
Earlier today, activists shut down the Forth Road Bridge in South Queensferry as part of a huge protest ahead of Trump's visit.
Climate campaigners from Greenpeace have since confirmed that 10 activists abseiled from the massive 156m bridge to block an INEOS tanker.
We previously told how police and security services were assessing fears that Trump could be assassinated during his visit to Scotland after he survived an attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania last year.
David Threadgold, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said there 'is a huge amount of threat assessment and intelligence gathering' taking place ahead of the visit.
It comes months after Trump's Ayrshire course was vandalised with pro-Palestine graffiti back in March.
Eight people have since been charged in connection with the incident where protestors daubed red paint on the clubhouse and damaged the greens in the attack.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said: 'A policing plan will be in place to maintain public safety, balance rights to peaceful protest, and minimise disruption.'
More to follow...
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Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland
Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland

Daily Record

time19 minutes ago

  • Daily Record

Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland

Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. Protesters have insisted that Donald Trump is 'not welcome here' as the US president took to the golf course on the first full day of his visit to Scotland. ‌ Tight security around the Trump Turnberry course meant no demonstrators were seen when the president took to the greens on Saturday morning. ‌ Dressed in black, with a white cap that said USA on it, Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. ‌ The outspoken Republican waved to journalists at one point, with hits including Billy Joel's Uptown Girl and Elaine Paige's rendition of Memory from the musical Cats heard playing from his entourage. But when asked about links to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the Simon and Garfunkel hit Bridge Over Troubled Water could be heard. However hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen – near the site of Mr Trump's other Scottish golf resort – to make their opposition to the president known. ‌ As the visit got under way Scottish First Minister John Swinney – who is due to hold talks with the president later in the trip – announced public money to support a tournament at the Trump International golf links in Aberdeenshire. The 2025 Nexo Championship – previously known as the Scottish Championship – is set to take place there next month, supported by £180,000 of public funding. ‌ Mr Swinney said: 'The Scottish Government recognises the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy.' But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie likened the awarding of public cash to the tournament to 'handing some pocket money to the school bully'. Mr Trump will head to his golf resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire later on in his five-day long private visit. 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Sniffer dogs were seen patrolling the golf course, with the Navy carrying out sweeps in the water beside the seaside course, while Army vehicles were spotted on the nearby A77 road. Police Scotland has asked for support from other forces across the UK to bolster officer numbers for the high profile visit – with Mr Swinney appealing to people to protest 'peacefully and within the law'. ‌ In Aberdeen Green north east Scotland MSP Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: 'We stand in solidarity not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.' Speaking about the US president, Ms Chapman said: 'He believes that climate change isn't real, he believes that cutting services for those in the world with the least is the right thing to do. We say no to all of those things, not in our name, never in our name.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. ‌ With Mr Trump having last year been convicted by a New York jury of falsifying business records, she said the president was a 'convicted felon'. And she told the PA news agency: 'He is not welcome in Scotland, he is certainly not welcome in Aberdeenshire. We know that he is a convicted felon. 'We also know that all of the promises he has repeatedly made to Scotland have come to nothing, there hasn't been the development of jobs or houses that he promised when he opened his course in Aberdeenshire a few years ago.' Mr Harvie was also critical of the president, telling PA: 'He's attacking our renewables industry once again, one of the success stories of Scotland, and he is trying to attack and undermine it. ‌ 'And that is after having trashed part of our natural environment on the Aberdeenshire coast to build his golf resort.' Anita Bhadani was one of those who organised the Stop Trump Coalition protest outside the US Consulate General's office in Edinburgh. She told PA: 'We are really excited, across this whole weekend, there's so many campaign groups turning out in the streets, tacking in action in their communities or at rallies like this – it's kind of like a carnival of resistance.' She said Mr Trump's 'huge promises' of creating thousands of jobs through development around his Scottish golf courses had not come to pass. A number of speakers addressed the crowd, condemning President Trump, including one who chanted 'death to the IDF'.

European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril
European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril

Telegraph

time19 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril

When president Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One on to Scottish soil, he had one thing on his mind. 'There's no place like Turnberry,' he told his travelling press pool beneath the wing of his presidential jet. His Ayrshire golf course, he continued, was 'the best … probably the best course in the world'. Minutes later, he climbed into the Beast – his armoured limousine - to travel 35 minutes along country lanes and through Scottish villages, lined with supporters, protesters, and the merely curious, to Turnberry. Mr Trump may be determined to have a break, but European leaders have other ideas. Willingly or otherwise, Mr Trump faces a string of meetings in the coming days as the Continent's power brokers sit down with the unpredictable president. For now, though, he is secure inside a ring of steel. The historic course, home to some of the most exciting Opens in history, has been locked down. 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Yet all that changed shortly before Mr Trump flew out of Washington, when Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, announced on X that she would be meeting Mr Trump on Sunday as she closes in on a trade deal: Following a good call with @POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong. — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 25, 2025 EU members have drawn up a retaliatory hit list. The plan is to impose 30pc tariffs on bourbon whisky, yachts, soybeans and other American products if a deal cannot be reached by August 1 to lift US levies. Mrs von der Leyen had better tread carefully. A diplomat who has prepared ministers for meetings with Mr Trump said she was playing a high-risk game. 'Very dangerous,' they said. Mr Trump's chat with reporters at Glasgow Prestwick Airport showed a president relaxed and looking forward to four days of golf, but one who was quick to bristle when it came to policy and politics. Mr Trump left Washington bugged by the drip, drip, drip of headlines about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire paedophile who took his own life in a jail cell six years ago. He flashed irritation and lobbed sharp words at reporters who asked him how much he knew about the case on Friday, but relaxed as soon as he could talk about the love of his life: golf and the course at Turnberry. 'Sean Connery helped get me the permits,' he claimed after landing. 'If it weren't for Sean Connery, we wouldn't have those great courses.' There is a lesson for European leaders looking to muscle in on his tee times with their trade demands or for John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, who is likely to tell Mr Trump that his tariffs are hurting the Scotch whisky industry. When the chat with reporters turned from golf to more substantial matters, he said he had a simple message for Europe. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said in another flash of passion. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore... This immigration is killing Europe.' Anyone meeting with Mr Trump will remember the lessons of Volodymyr Zelensky's Oval Office row. The Ukrainian president was roundly chastised by Mr Trump and his vice president for daring to push back on the US position. And by hosting leaders at his Turnberry and Aberdeenshire courses, Mr Trump retains home advantage even while on foreign soil. Sir Keir may have got the memo. Mr Trump billed their meeting as little more than a chance to celebrate their recent trade deal. Although the Prime Minister does run the risk of upsetting Mr Trump over plans to raise the plight of civilians in Gaza, British officials played down the chances of any major diplomatic announcements. 'It's not like other meetings where we would go in with deliverables we planned to announce,' he said. On Saturday, all that was far from Mr Trump's mind. He spent the day golfing with son Eric, and his ambassador to London. The sound of Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' and 'Memories' from the musical Cats drifted out from the dunes on Saturday morning as Mr Trump's motorcade of golf buggies arrived at the fourth hole. Photographers huddled on a mound in the dunes, hoping to get a shot of the president on the course. Mr Trump, wearing a white USA cap and dressed in black, waved at the mound before teeing off in the direction of Turnberry lighthouse. Cheers from his baseball-cap-wearing entourage could be heard above the din of the speakers as the group wasted little time in rattling off their drives. A photographer camped in the dunes with a long lens later claimed to have witnessed the president cheat on the third fairway. He said Mr Trump had been handed a ball by a caddy, which he then dropped to the floor and pushed forward a little with an iron before taking a swing. The golf course has been surrounded by an eight-foot-high metal fence, while dozens of officers patrolled the entrances to the beach from Turnberry all the way down to Maidens, the next town along the coast. A temporary watchtower had been erected to monitor the Turnberry perimeter with a sniper rifle trained on the course below. A drone scanned from above, and police boats patrolled the coastal waters. Asked whether there would be a repeat of protesters taking to the beach in front of the golf club, an officer said the incident in 2018 had likely convinced the authorities to close off the entire beach to the public. Fears that the visit would be a magnet for protesters appeared unfounded. Matt Halliday, from Stranraer, said he had been driving around for two hours trying and failing to find protests to join. He said Mr Trump had 'stamped all over Scotland' with his grand golf resort plans, strong-arming local farmers and 'bullying' the council over wind farm plans. One of his signs bore a picture of the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 'I think it is going to bring him down,' he said. However, supporters were easier to find than protesters. Two wearing red 'Make England Great Again' hats arrived shortly after the president had disappeared over the crest of a dune. 'We love Trump,' said Kay English, 37, wearing a face mask sporting the president's face. Tom English, a 38-year-old driver, said the pair had driven up from Liverpool last night to catch a glimpse of the president. 'We support Maga, Trump and what he is doing,' he told reporters, adding: 'I like the way he is, the way he speaks. It is comedy gold. 'He is putting the people first. He is trying to help the whole world to make peace - he is the president of peace.' Mr English said he would return on Sunday and hopefully get within 'shouting distance' to offer words of encouragement to the president and cheer on his cost-cutting Doge unit. He added: 'We love Doge, we are trying to get that here through Reform. There is so much being wasted.' Mr Trump has long blurred the line between family, business and public life. But any world leader intruding on his golfing getaway had better be ready for a possible sharp response.

Greenpeace activists arrested after abseiling from bridge
Greenpeace activists arrested after abseiling from bridge

Telegraph

time19 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Greenpeace activists arrested after abseiling from bridge

Ten protestors have been arrested after spending almost 24 hours suspended from a bridge. The Forth Road Bridge outside Edinburgh was closed on Friday after the Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from the structure to block a tanker carrying fracked gas, which was heading for the Ineos petrochemical plant at nearby Grangemouth. Police Scotland said it had been alerted to the protest shortly after 1pm on Friday. The group suspended themselves from the bridge using ropes, ending up about 25 metres above the water level at high tide. On Saturday morning Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration, saying it had 'achieved what we set out to'. The campaign group said its demonstration had prevented the tanker from delivering the gas for a full 24 hours, as the vessel could only travel to Grangemouth during high tides. Greenpeace said all 10 had descended safely and were voluntarily transported to Port Edgar in South Queensferry, where it said they were arrested by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of culpable and reckless conduct. Police Scotland confirmed that five men, aged between 35 and 40, and five women, aged between 25 and 42, had been arrested. The force added that further inquiries were ongoing, and that the Forth Road Bridge remained closed to traffic as of Saturday morning. After the demonstration ended, Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK said: 'We've achieved what we set out to. 'By blocking Ineos, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe.' Plastic production set to triple Describing the 'plastic pollution problem' as being 'massive', she added: 'Less than 10 per cent of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17 per cent by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. 'The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production.' Ms Cameron continued: 'Ineos are cutting jobs at Grangemouth while trying to open a massive new plastics plant in Belgium, leaving Scottish workers high and dry. 'If Jim Ratcliffe really cared about skilled jobs in Scotland he'd invest his billions in supporting his workers to transition into the green industries of the future, instead of throwing money at Formula 1 racing teams and football clubs.' Greenpeace insists its protest was safe and caused 'minimal disruption' – stressing that the climbers had spent weeks training for the demonstration, also pointing out that the Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, cycle and pedestrian traffic. An Ineos spokesman said the stunt was 'dangerous, disruptive and entirely counterproductive'. It added: 'Ineos is one of the few companies investing in solutions: advanced recycling, circular design, and low-carbon feedstocks. We are building real infrastructure, not hanging banners off bridges. 'If Greenpeace truly cared about outcomes, they'd stop targeting the companies delivering change and start supporting serious policy reform on waste collection and global recycling standards.'

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