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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump played golf under tight security on the first full day of a visit to Scotland today, as hundreds of protesters took to the streets in major cities.
Trump played at his Turnberry resort with son Eric and US ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens, waving to photographers following his arrival in his mother’s birth country yesterday evening.
His presence has turned the picturesque and normally quiet area of southwest Scotland into a virtual fortress, with roads closed and police checkpoints in place.
Police officers – some on quad bikes and others on foot with sniffer dogs – patrolled the famous course and the sandy beaches and grass dunes that flank it.
Secret Service snipers were positioned at vantage points while some other golfers on the course were patted down by security personnel.
The 79-year-old Trump touched down yesterday at nearby Prestwick Airport as hundreds of onlookers came out to see Air Force One and catch a glimpse of its famous passenger.
The president has professed a love of Scotland, but his controversial politics and business investments in the country have made for an uneasy relationship.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac, Trump immediately waded into the debate surrounding high levels of irregular migration, and lashed out at renewable energy efforts.
“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore,” he said, adding that migration was “killing” the continent.
“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he added.
Trump’s five-day visit, which is set to mix leisure with business and diplomacy, has divided the local community.
Several hundred protesters demonstrated outside the US consulate in the capital Edinburgh and in the city of Aberdeen, near where Trump owns another golf resort.
The protests were organised by the Stop Trump Coalition. Participants held placards with slogans like “Scotland hates Trump” and waved Palestinian flags.
“I am here because of fascism in America under Trump’s rule. I am here because of genocide in Gaza that is being funded and enabled by British and American governments,” said 44-year-old Amy Hanlon in Aberdeen.
No demonstrations could be seen near Turnberry.
Not everyone was against his visit.
At Prestwick Airport yesterday evening a boy held a sign that read “Welcome Trump” while a man waved a flag emblazoned with Trump’s most famous slogan – “Make America Great Again”.
“I think the best thing about Trump is he’s not actually a politician yet he’s the most powerful man in the world and I think he’s looking at the best interests of his own country,” said 46-year-old Lee McLean, who had travelled from nearby Kilmarnock.
“Most politicians should really be looking at the best interests of their own country first before looking overseas,” he told news agency AFP.
Trump had no public events scheduled for today, but he posted on his Truth Social network to say he was talking with the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand in a bid to end their border conflict that has left at least 33 people dead.
Trump is due to discuss trade with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry tomorrow.
He is also due to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, before heading to Balmedie in Aberdeenshire where he is expected to formally open a new golf course at his resort there.
Trump is scheduled to return to the US on Tuesday but will be back in the UK for a state visit between 17-19 September, when he will be hosted by King Charles III.
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