President Trump's Scotland visit confirmed
- Published
Donald Trump next to a piper at the opening of The Trump International Golf Links Course in July 2012
President Trump will be in Scotland over three days next week, it has been confirmed.
Downing Street said the US President would fly to Scotland after a meeting with the Queen on Friday 13 July and stay until Sunday 15 July.
No details of the Scottish leg of the visit have yet been confirmed, but it is understood he will not visit his mother's former home in Lewis.
First Lady Melania Trump will accompany the president to Scotland.
President Trump arrives in the UK on the afternoon of Thursday 12 July and he will later attend a black tie dinner at Blenheim Palace.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland is due to perform at the event.
Donald Trump has had a tumultuous relationship with his mother's homeland
On Friday, the president will hold talks with the prime minister at Chequers, followed by a meeting with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
He will travel to Scotland later on Friday and stay until Sunday.
Protests have been planned in Edinburgh and Glasgow in expectation of the announcement.
Earlier this week, the UK government agreed to pay up to £5m to pay for Scottish policing of security around the visit.
Concerns were raised that any such visit could require at least 5,000 officers to police.
Donald Trump on a visit to his ancestral home on Lewis in 2008
The 45th President of the United States of America has a strong connection to Scotland.
His mother grew up as Mary Anne MacLeod on the Hebridean island of Lewis but emigrated to New York in the 1930s.
The president still has three cousins on Lewis.
He is also the owner of two Scottish golf courses, at Menie in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire.
The Aberdeenshire course was the subject of years of controversy after clashes with local residents, environmental agencies, wind farm manufacturers and council leaders.
Mr Trump was involved in a long-running legal battle over wind turbines off the Scottish coast.
The Trump International course in Aberdeenshire was mired in controversy for years
In 2012, he gave evidence at Holyrood slamming the Scottish government's environmental policies, and engaged in a furious feud with former first minister Alex Salmond.
When asked to support his claim that wind farms would "lead to the almost total destruction of Scotland's tourism industry", Mr Trump claimed: "I am the evidence".
Despite his Scottish heritage, the president has not proved popular in his motherland.
When he proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States during the election campaign, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon dropped him as a business ambassador for Scotland.
In a TV debate, the first minister said: "I actually do think the good people of America will send Donald Trump packing and we should all rejoice when that happens."
All five Holyrood leaders at that time publicly opposed Donald Trump's election and the then Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, travelled to America to campaign for Hillary Clinton.
'Peacefully and safely'
Responding to confirmation that Mr Trump would visit Scotland next weekend, a Scottish government spokesman said while no talks were scheduled with the president, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will "consider a meeting should one be proposed".
He added: "President Trump is coming to the UK at the invitation of the UK government. However, the Scottish government has been planning for some time with key partners, including Police Scotland, for the possibility of the president's itinerary including a visit to Scotland.
"Scotland has deep and longstanding ties of family, friendship and business with the United States, which will continue to endure. At the same time, we will not compromise our fundamental values of equality, diversity and human rights, and we expect these values to be made clear during the presidential visit to the UK.
"We would encourage those attending any protests to do so peacefully and safely."
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has vowed his party will help lead the protests against Mr Trump.
He said: "The sight of mothers separated from babies and children caged like animals has horrified people across the globe, we should not be welcoming the man responsible.
"It is my view, and that of the Scottish Labour Party, that someone who holds such misogynist, racist and anti-trade union views, not to mention his dangerous approach to foreign policy, and someone who rejects the Paris Climate Change Agreement, should not be given the 'red carpet' treatment."
Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said: "Donald Trump has not been invited to Scotland, and even if he sticks to Turnberry or Menie there will be huge protests in our biggest cities that will send a message loud and clear."
- Published6 July 2018
- Published3 July 2018
