Police in Scotland are preparing for large-scale protests as Donald Trump is expected to visit his golf resort in Aberdeenshire later this month. The long-rumoured trip is thought to involve the official opening of a new 18-hole golf course named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, but will not include a meeting with King Charles, despite earlier suggestions.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond confirmed on Wednesday that planning is under way for a potential visit by the US president. “While official confirmation has not yet been made, it is important that we prepare in advance for what would be a significant policing operation,” she said.
Protests are anticipated, echoing demonstrations during Trump’s 2018 visit, when a paraglider flew over his Turnberry resort. Since then, controversy around his policies has escalated, with several people arrested for criminal damage at Turnberry earlier this year.
Trump has made numerous visits to his Aberdeenshire course, which opened in 2012, and his more prestigious Turnberry resort. His son Eric broke ground on the MacLeod course in 2023 and inspected progress in March, meeting First Minister John Swinney.
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine urged a pragmatic approach, saying the visit could help alleviate the threat of Trump’s tariffs to Scottish businesses. However, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie declared Trump unwelcome, calling him “a convicted felon and political extremist”.
