Trump arrives in Scotland for 'working visit' focused on golf properties, trade talks
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump traveled Scotland on Friday to visit both his Turnberry and Aberdeen golf properties.
Trump is also expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss trade and refine a deal they announced in June to slash tariffs and expand market access between the two countries.
The trip abroad, which the White House described as a "working visit," comes at a particularly fraught moment in Trump's second term, as he faces questions from his supporters over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Trump is expected to spend four days in Scotland, his mother's native land. He visited the country during his 2016 presidential campaign and during his first term.
Some protests are being planned in response to the president's trip. The "Stop Trump" coalition said it is organizing demonstrations in Aberdeen and in Edinburgh outside the U.S. consulate for Saturday, July 26.
Trump opened his Aberdeen course in 2012 and bought the Turnberry resort on Scotland's west coast in 2014. This trip coincides with the opening of a second Trump golf course in Aberdeen, which is being named after Trump's mother, Mary Anne Macleod.
Last week, Trump said he'd likely meet with Starmer at one of the properties.
"We're going to do a lot of different things, and we're going to also refine the trade deal that we've made," Trump told reporters.
Trump and Starmer signed a trade deal in mid-June on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Canada. The agreement, the White House said, will lower U.S. tariffs on British cars from 25% to 10% and allow some steel and aluminum products to enter the U.S. without being subject to the 25% tariff rate.
Starmer called it "a really important day for great people." Trump praised the deal as "fair" for both sides, one he said would "produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income."
The United Kingdom is one of just a few countries that have cemented a trade deal with Trump since the president unveiled steep tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners back in April. Trump is set to impose tariffs as high as 50% on dozens of countries next week, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Trump is set for another trip back to the United Kingdom in September, when he attends a state visit hosted by King Charles III. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be visiting the U.K. from Sept. 17 through Sept. 19, according to the White House.
