How has the US reported on Donald Trump's Scotland visit?

The National

5 days ago

Welcome to this week's Media Watch!
There really is only one topic in town to discuss this week and that is the arrival of a US convicted felon in Scotland.
The National's front page which refused to name the US president has gone viral across the globe, but how has the American media been covering his 'private' trip?
Translating Scots phrases
The American media has not shied away in the slightest from placing the focus on the protests Donald Trump has been faced since he touched down on Friday.
MSNBC was particularly thorough about making sure Americans understood the exact sentiment Scots were expressing.
One protester held up a sign at Turnberry – where Trump owns a golf course – saying 'release the files ya lyin' jobbie' in reference to the Epstein files Trump has been told he is mentioned in multiple times. He has come under fire for not releasing the documents.
Trump was told by US Attorney General Pam Bondi that he appears in the files related to investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the US Department of Justice's review of the case in May.
Reporter Jen Psaki spoke about the sign on MSNBC and chose to translate the word 'jobbie' for the American public.
With an image of the sign on the screen, she said: 'One sign there reading 'release the files ya lyin' jobbie'. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right, but jobbie, which I learned today is Scottish slang for poop, so there's that.
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'In case that's useful for anyone out there this weekend, now you know. Jobbie [means] poop.'
The same news report also highlighted a sign put up at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire that says 'twinned with Epstein Island', with the newsreader speculating it 'took a lot of planning' as it 'looks like it was meant to be there'.
And Psaki spoke for a segment about bald SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn saying he'd be 'washing his hair' during the Trump visit.
It was just one report that showed American media outlets have really been enjoying the trademark Scottish humour on display during the president's trip.
Wit, bite and bagpipes
This is how the Washington Post described the Scottish welcome Trump received, another outlet that spoke extensively about the various satirical placards on display.
The article described many signs as having 'unmistakable Scottish flair', such as one that said 'pipe down Donald', held up by someone playing the bagpipes.
They also went to the efforts of translating Scottish slang, explaining that a sign saying 'Nae Trump' meant 'no Trump' and that the phrase 'radge' referred to a wild, crazy or violent person.
'Some children were photographed with signs that read, 'Keep orange fizzy, not fascist', with a logo of Irn-Bru, a popular Scottish soft drink,' the article said.
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It is clear American journalists were so impressed with the effort protesters went to that they wanted to do it justice in their reporting by letting Americans know in great detail the opposition the president was facing in the land of his mother's birth.
Protests were also covered extensively by the New York Times, CBS and PBS.
Private and presidential crossover
Other coverage has focused on the more far-reaching implications of Trump's trip. CNN homed in on how Trump's trip is 'an example of the president blending private business with official duties'.
CNN reporter Jeremy Herb wrote a piece laying out that while the White House was calling his trip a 'working visit', he felt it was the latest example 'of using the trappings of the White House to promote and enrich his businesses while in office'.
It goes on: 'Ethics watchdogs say the sprawling number of business ventures Trump is pushing in his second term — including those that benefit from White House policy, such as crypto — has far outpaced that of his first four years in office.'
'Trump is using a driver to smash through basic governmental ethics norms. He's deploying the power of the White House to enrich himself and his family,' said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, who spoke to the media outlet.
'The grift in the Trump administration was the greatest in American history, and it is orders of magnitude worse in the second administration,' Weissman added.
'He's misdirecting policy and taxpayer assets to serve his personal interest, rather than those of the American people.'
The White House has repeatedly rejected allegations that Trump is blending his businesses with the presidency.