Trump Visits Scotland, Playing Golf While Talking To British PM

US President Donald Trump/PHOTO White House Via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - United States (US) President Donald Trump will leave for Scotland on Friday for a trip that will combine golf with politics that is largely invisible to the public.

Trump plans to visit his golf resort at Turnberry on the east coast of Scotland, where he will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday next week.

Diulas Reuters, Friday, July 25, as part of the visit, Trump will open a second 18-hole golf course on the Aberdeen property named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and raised on an island in Scotland before migrating to America.

The White House press secretary, Krypto Leavitt, said the trip was intended as a working visit that would include a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Starmer to fine-tune the US-UK historic trade deal.

This overseas trip was carried out when Trump faced the biggest domestic political crisis in his second term.

Both allies and opponents have criticized the handling of their government on investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and the state of his death in prison in 2019.

This problem has led to rare disagreements with some loyal Trump supporters, Make America Great Again.

The majority of Americans and supporters of the Republican Trump Party said they believed the government was hiding details of the case, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The frustrated White House officials with a continuing focus on Epstein's saga, hope this controversy subsides as long as Trump is overseas, said a source familiar with the matter.

DEEPENING THE RELATIONSHIP

The visit, originally referred to as a private visit, gave Trump and Starmer the opportunity to deepen their warm relationship, with key issues on the agenda including ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and US sources said.

British officials have been entertained by what they see as a clear change in Trump's rhetoric about Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks, a British source said.

The deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to emerge. Starmer on Thursday said he would make an emergency call with France and Germany regarding what he called unjustified suffering and hunger.

British PM urged Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian territories.

Gaza's health authorities say more than 100 people have died from hunger, mostly in recent weeks.

Human rights groups say mass hunger spreads even when tons of food and other supplies are still neglected outside the region.

Since being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, emphasizing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliances with the US and taking care not to publicly criticize Trump's tariff policies.

The approach helped the UK seal the first rate reduction deal with the US in May, reaffirming quotas and tariffs for British cars and removing tariffs for the UK aerospace sector, but maintaining steel rates.

Starmer is expected to press for a reduction in steel rates, but sources close to the issue say it's unclear whether any breakthroughs might have taken place during Trump's visit.

Trump is also expected to meet Scottish leader John Swinney, who publicly support Democrat candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, but no details have yet been released by both sides.

Trump has described Scotland as a "very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 when his first candidacy for president, but he will not necessarily get a warm welcome.

About 70% of Scotland have negative opinion about Trump, while 18% have positive opinion, according to the Ipsos poll in March.