Playing a round with Donald John: Trump Inc rolls into Scotland

The US president has flown to the land of his forebears for a long weekend of R&R. explains why his visit is costly and few Scots will greet him

- Xavier Greenwood

Donald Trump is in Scotland on a four-day trip to his golf courses. Air Force One touched down at Prestwick on Friday evening and the 47th US president headed for the fairways of Menie and Turnberry.

So what?

It is meant to be a “private” visit, but there is no such thing for a man who blurs the line between business and politics. The president returns to his maternal homeland with his profile as high as it has ever been. This has consequences locally, as Trump is met by communities who have lukewarm feelings towards him; nationally, as Scottish police work to keep him safe with their biggest security operation since the death of the Queen; and internationally as the president tries to get some downtime amid a deepening hunger crisis in Gaza and questions over his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Scotland's saviour

Trump bought the Aberdeenshire site in 2006 and promised to build the world's greatest golf course. Then a humble hotelier, he said it would be a £1bn development. Some residents refused to sell their land and Trump famously accused a farmer, Michael Forbes, of living in a “pig-like atmosphere”. Forbes recently restated his position to the New York Times: “There’s no way I'm ever going to sell.”

Gimme

Scottish ministers gave the nod to the development in the belief that the economic benefit would outweigh the environmental harm. Trump said he would create up to 6,000 jobs with a 450-room hotel, sports complex, holiday apartments, two golf courses and 500 houses.

By the numbers