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US President Donald Trump wraps up a four-day visit to Britain, dominated by his blasting of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy, by spending the weekend in Scotland.
Trump is staying at one of his luxury golf resorts in Turnberry, southwest of Glasgow, in a private part of the trip before heading for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a fierce critic of Trump, has refused to meet him and he was instead met at Glasgow airport by a British government representative.
A major anti-Trump rally is planned in Edinburgh on Saturday after a mass protest in London Friday that organisers said drew more than 250,000 people.
A pro-Trump demonstration is also due to be held in London by alt-right campaigners, as well as a counter, anti-fascism protest.
In an extraordinary interview with Friday’s edition of The Sun tabloid, Britain’s most widely read newspaper, Trump said May’s plan for post-Brexit ties with the EU would “probably kill” prospects for a UK-US trade deal.
He also said former foreign minister Boris Johnson, who resigned over the plan earlier this week and is a potential challenger to May, would make “a great prime minister”.
Trump said he had advised May to take a different strategy on Brexit, telling the paper: “I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didn’t agree, she didn’t listen to me”.
The unprecedented criticism comes at a particularly sensitive time for May, who is facing a rebellion by Brexit hardliners against her proposals to retain strong trading ties with the EU even after Britain leaves the bloc.
After meeting May at her Chequers country retreat outside London on Friday, Trump sounded more conciliatory, saying that bilateral relations “have never been stronger”.
“Whatever you do is okay with us, just make sure we can trade together, that’s all that matters,” he told May.
“The United States looks forward to finalising a great bilateral trade deal,” he said, and repeatedly praised May’s leadership, saying she was a “terrific woman”.
The president followed his Chequers meeting by having tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle alongside First Lady Melania Trump.
Trump walked ahead of the 92-year-old queen while inspecting troops and did not bow when he met her — a couple of minor protocol breaches — but the meeting went smoothly.
‘Global Scot’
In Scotland, Trump is staying at the Turnberry golf resort — the same course he inaugurated on 24 June, 2016, a day after the referendum in which Britain voted to leave the EU.
Discord over his other golf course in Scotland dating back over a decade means there is little love lost between Trump and the pro-independence government in Scotland.
In 2006, the billionaire real estate tycoon bought 1,400 acres of land near Aberdeen and promised to build “the world’s best golf course”.
The proposal was welcomed by the government at the time and Trump was named a “Global Scot” business ambassador.
But local councillors rejected the plan amid fierce opposition from conservationists and neighbouring residents.
The SNP government overturned the councillors’ decision shortly after golf-loving nationalist Alex Salmond took control, kicking off a short and tempestuous bromance with Trump who called Salmond “an amazing man”.
However, the relationship cooled when Trump’s promise to create 6,000 jobs and invest £1 billion failed to materialise, and Trump began interfering with the SNP’s flagship plan to make Scotland a renewable energy powerhouse.
The Trump Organisation has spent around £100 million on the course, known as Trump International Golf Links, and employed around 650 temporary and permanent staff — but the company insists the resort remains a work in progress.
‘I am the evidence’
Three years later Trump visited the Scottish Parliament to complain about plans to build 11 “ugly” offshore wind turbines near his newly minted Aberdeenshire resort, insisting the development would do “terrible damage” to Scottish tourism.
Trump declared “I am the evidence” when Scottish lawmakers asked him to back up his assertion that the wind farm would “destroy the financial wellbeing of Scotland”.
Sturgeon, who rescinded Trump’s “Global Scot” title after he pledged to cut Muslim immigration into the United States, switched on the first wind turbine last week.
“A famous golf course owner from America who, I think, has now turned his hand to politics, decided to take the Scottish government to court to try to block these wind turbines,” she told reporters.
“The Scottish government beat that American golf course owner in court… and these amazing wind turbines generated their first electricity,” she said.
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I don’t normally feel sorry for the Queen but …
@Peter King: So true, she must be dying for him to go home
@Mel Fitzpatrick: After his stupidity (or calculated insult?) about Ireland being part of the UK, he has now tweeted that he is leaving the UK to visit Scotland.
@Terry McClatchey:
Don’t believe everything you read in the Sun Terry.
@Terry McClatchey: I wouldn’t get too uptight about it Terry, after all there’s a sizeable cohort in Dublin and elsewhere in the country who think that Donegal is part of Northern Ireland.
@Jimmy Coltrane: I certainly don’t believe everything that The Sun says. They have however published the audio recording of their interview. People can directly listen to Trump’s voice and hear what he said to them. It is a sad reflection on the current US presidency when The Sun enjoys the “relative” moral high ground. If someone falls beneath The Sun for standards of accuarcy, that is indeed a low benchmark.
@Jimmy Coltrane: it’s all recorded Jimmy – for once the Sun got it right (can’t believe I wrote that but it’s true!)
@Garry Coll: that is absolute bol11ocks made up by you on the spot just now.
He walked in front of the queen. she wasn’t too pleased with him. one has to to know ones place.
@Sean Conway: only an insult if you believe in blue blood. The Queen is a glorified ambassador at this stage. The deference she gets from everyone else is just politeness, Trump isn’t polite
Have to say Donald Trump is a breath of fresh air in modern political life.
Usually politicians come out and tell the public ‘OH, everything is wonderful, absolutely wonderful, everyone got a great deal, we’re doing a sterling job looking after the interests of our people’
all the while you know they’re lying through their teeth.
Not so Donald, he tells it like it is, keeps the public informed, a straight talking politician who bows the head to no one.
Donald Trump’s new era of openness, honesty and transparency is a turning point in the political evolution of western democracy from which there can be no turning back.
A watershed moment.
I think we can all agree this is good for democracy and good for humanity.
Keep that train rolling Donald.
MTWGA!
@Jimmy Coltrane: ***bot alert***
@Jimmy Coltrane: __ He tells it like he thinks it is, then has to tell it like it should have been when he gets caught out.
@Jimmy Coltrane: people just don’t get it – they completely forget everything they’ve learned from all the career politician scandals we’ve witnessed and get all up in arms about Trump because he hasn’t got the years of perfecting the ‘wholesome’ public persona expected in the role of president. He is a loud and brash NY landlord, but he’s also attempting to deliver on what he said he would when he sought election – however unpopular and US-serving as those promises might be.
@Jimmy Coltrane: WRONG. He’s just incompetent.
There’s no getting away from it, he’s just bad at this job.
Let’s see how many Trump supporters come on to support the separation of children from their families, the banning of travel from several mainly Moslem countries except the one primarily responsible for terror attacks and funding Islamic fundamentalist groups across the entire middle-east, and the sexual assault of women.
I know there are plenty out there but it will be interesting to see how many are willing to post under their real name.
We seem to get a lot of “hard” alt-right guys here who are so worried about what Mommy would think they have to use anonymous accounts.
@Danny Rafferty: They don’t have the cojones to stand up for what they believe in.
@DJ François: And He told police to be more aggressive with the people that they arrest. And now we have aggressive cops everywhere.
He talked about sexually assaulting women and young girls and now we have everyone who thinks they can do the same.
He told the Russians on film to hack his opponents campaign and stop her from winning the election.
It’s all on film, it’s all been recorded.
@Danny Rafferty:
Snowflake.
@Jimmy Coltrane: Insult from a fake account…who is the snowflake now?
@Jimmy Coltrane: makes a fake account to call someone a snowflake Hahahahahaha Haha!!! Sweet Jesus that’s so moronic it hurts
@Jimmy Coltrane: I’m called a snowflake for asking a question.
Whatever next?
Probably call me another name for asking that one too.
Did ye see the balloon of Trump? It was really big and not at all tiny. It went up at least 25ft too. Hahahahahaha. NEWSWORTHY!
Is he clocking up the most hours on the golf course than any other president?
Another first for Trump!
@alphanautica: yes he is, which would be fair enough if not for the fact that Trump blasted Obama for doing the same thing, on a much lesser scale than he is now doing.
@alphanautica: at least while he’s playing golf he’s not doing harm to someone
@alphanautica: I never concerned myself with how much golf was being played by President Obama or any other Presidents, I was more concerned about how my country and countrymen were doing. Trump can play golf as much as he likes.
Americans stopped bowing, curtsying and walking steps behind royals in 1776.
@Mark Fields: WRONG.
@Danny Rafferty: some people might bow due to some misguided idea that they are “subjects”:to “royals” which is an odd idea. I refuse to abide by such ideas.
@Mark Fields: It’s about respect. I’m no fan of the Queen, but even I would follow protocol. Could he not at least have walked beside her, no? Had to walk in front of her. Utterly disrespectful.
@Mark Fields: __ The Americans just lurve the royals, and would pay big bucks to walk behind their Queen.
@Maria Hickey-Fagan: I agree that walking beside the Queen would have been better. The article specifically mentions “protocol” and “bowing”. So called “Royal etiquette” protocol is that one should never turn their back on the monarch or walk in front of (the monarch)”. I actually. Agree with you on the point should be Trump should have walked beside her. But this is for the Royal Family to correct on this etiquette business. I think it is unreasonable to expect a bow from a citizen from another country. At the same time, if a country (e.g. Japan) has a tradition that normal greeting between two persons is a bow by both, as a sign of MUTUAL respect to each other that’s what should occur. And this can also include the greeting with a handshake, i.e. both cultural greetings.
@Mark Fields: she’ll be devastated
Lost opportunity for Nicola to deliver a well timed Glasgow Kiss to the visitor.
But when he wouldn’t even bow for the Queen, it was always going to be a tall order for the 5ft 4in Scottish National hero.
How did you play Mr. President.
New course record, 59.
“alt -right” , aka the cwying babies..
At least in Scotland there are some people whose lives have been directly impacted by his business methods and hence have a good case to protest. They wouldn’t be the same sort of people who went out in London..
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: PJ knows what sort protested in London.
Thanks for that PJ.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke:
The Loony Left.
@Jimmy Coltrane: Screeched the Trumpanzee from its fake account.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: He is a lying, bigoted, divisive piece of sh*t who befouled our city with his very presence. Enough of a reason to protest in our books.
Odious human being
Trump is the greatest president. Does exactly what he promised to do. Look after American interests. Creating jobs. Tough on illegal criminals not like Ireland when the Lithuanian gangs are targeting the guards and the looney left nuts want to open the borders and let everyone in.
@pearse: Your tongue must be raw from all that licking of Donald’s rear orifice.
They probably had loads in common and got on great. Sure didn’t she add him on Facebook after they met
Danny rafferty the looney left nut jobs. The are a paid mob. They don’t work and you only have to look at the state of them to figure out who they are. If the UK was attacked in the morning Britain/Ireland would be looking for America to back them while these losers would protest about offending the enemy
“it that a a fly in your soup there Donal ” “yes mam” ” “one is radder
thrilled to see it there”
@Gerard Heery: rather
Nice post! Thanks for sharing..
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