Protests against President Donald Trump have been planned across Scotland during his trip, which begins on Friday, says the Stop Trump Scotland group.
The president is expected to visit his golf courses in Turnberry, in Ayrshire and Menie, in Aberdeenshire, and although this trip is not a formal one, he is expected to meet British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, on Monday, reported The Guardian.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, Trump International Scotland, which manages the golf resorts, and Stop Trump Scotland via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Scottish police have told Newsweek a “significant” operation was being planned in expectation of the protests. In 2018, thousands of protesters gathered when Trump visited his Scottish golf courses during his first term.
What To Know
Stop Trump Scotland is planning protests in the Aberdeen city center and outside the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh at noon local time on Saturday, July 26, and at 2 p.m. on the same day in Dumfries.
According to the Stop Trump Scotland website, these are the only organized protests at time of writing. The group has encouraged people to “stand ready to meet him with loud protest wherever he goes on his visit to Scotland.”
The group has also said it is organizing “multiple days of events to give [Trump] a fitting welcome.”
Stop Trump Scotland has said it was protesting for several reasons, including to oppose Trump’s global tariffs, the president’s approach to the war in Ukraine, as well as his proposal to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” in Gaza, per a press release.
President Trump has familial as well as business ties to Scotland, as his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump was born on the Isle of Lewis. He is expected to be opening a new 18-hole course in Scotland named after her, per The Guardian.
What People Are Saying
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond told Newsweek: “A policing plan will be in place to maintain public safety, balance rights to peaceful protest and minimise disruption. The visit will require a significant police operation using local, national and specialist resources from across Police Scotland, supported by colleagues from other UK police forces as part of mutual aid arrangements.”
A spokesperson for Stop Trump Scotland said in a press release: “The people of Scotland don’t want to roll out a welcome mat for Donald Trump, whose government is accelerating the spread of climate breakdown and fascism around the world.”
What Happens Next
Trump is due to return to the U.K. for an official state visit in September. He will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
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