Donald Trump should not expect to be welcomed with open arms during his Scotland visit this coming weekend with citizens still fuming about broken promises and attempts to meddle in local affairs that they feel are none of his business.
According to a report from the New York Times, as part of his four-day trip to the U.K. the president is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as visit his golf resorts, Trump International in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire.
The report notes that the main purpose of the visit is to survey his resorts and that local authorities are prepping for major protests in a country where the American president has a 71 percent unfavorable rating, according to polling from Ipsos.
As the Times' Mark Lander reported, the antipathy towards the American president predates his turn to politics when he began planning to build one of his golf courses over 20 years ago.
In an interview, local farmer Michael Forbes, 73, claimed he still won't sell his property that is surrounded by the newest course, telling the Times, “There’s no way I’m ever going to sell,” and then adding, "Everyone in Scotland hates him.”
According to the Times report, "Some of this antipathy may reflect his turbulent history in Scotland, which has been marked by feuds with noncompliant neighbors, breakups with political officials over his business plans, and longstanding grudges, like Mr. Trump’s hostility toward the offshore windmills that turn lazily within sight of his guests in Aberdeenshire."
The origin of the locals beef with the president dates back to 2006 when he bought the Menie estate and boasted about developing a "sprawling hotel" that would bring jobs to the area that never materialized.
The report adds, "In Aberdeenshire, the tensions are environmental. The links there are carved between sand dunes, which were designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the way they shift over time. A plaque behind the clubhouse, next to a vendor selling Trump Grab & Go sandwiches, declared that the dunes help make it “the greatest golf course anywhere in the world!” But the Scottish authorities withdrew the scientific site designation in 2020, saying the construction of the links had deprived the dunes of their special character."
In Aberdeenshire, David Milne has also balked at selling his home, which Trump once called "ugly," and protested against the president by once flying the flag of Mexico to antagonize him.
He no longer does that, telling the Times, "Once the Mexican people told him where to go, there didn’t seem to be any point. They’re quite capable of taking care of themselves.”
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