US PRESIDENT Donald Trump will visit Scotland next week, the White House has confirmed.
Speculation mounted about a potential visit of the president this month when Police Scotland confirmed it was in the early stages of planning for such an event.
Speaking at a briefing in Washington DC on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump will visit both of his golf courses in Scotland between July 25 and 29.
Donald Trump will visit:
- Turnberry in Ayrshire
- Menie in Aberdeenshire
It has already been confirmed Trump will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer while in Aberdeen, while plans are being put in place for the president to meet First Minister John Swinney, according to the Scottish Government.
“President Trump will travel to Scotland, where he will visit both Turnberry and Aberdeen, from July 25 to July 29,” Leavitt said.
“During the visit, President Trump will meet again with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
The president will return to the UK in September for his second state visit.
The First Minister has defended his decision to meet Trump, telling press he had an “obligation” to “protect and promote” Scotland.
He added that there would be an opportunity during his meeting to discuss tariffs, Gaza and Ukraine.
“I’ve taken a decision that’s in Scotland’s interest to meet with the president of the United States so that I can use every opportunity to protect and to promote the interests of the people of Scotland," Swinney said.
“There’s obviously a range of issues that we can cover around the international situation that’s causing such anxiety to people in Scotland, around the situation the Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine, and the domestic issues that are important to us around about the implications of, for example, trade and tariffs on some of our key sectors, including Scotch whisky.
“So I think people in Scotland would expect their First Minister to meet with the president of the United States to put forward Scotland’s position.”
Earlier this week, Trump said he would go to Aberdeen, which he said was the “oil capital of Europe”.
“They have so much oil there,” he said.
“They should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil.
“[Because] the windmills are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland and every other place they go up.”
Asked about those comments, Swinney said he supported renewables in Scotland, which he said was key to the future of the country.
He said: “There’s going to be different views expressed by different political leaders, and I’m a supporter of renewable energy.
“I think it’s important that we use the opportunities that we have in Scotland to capture the natural and sustainable energy that surrounds us and it’s all around us, and we should take those opportunities, which the Scottish Government has done in a sustainable way.
“We’ve got to protect the planet. We’ve got to protect our communities, and that’s at the heart of the Government’s agenda in Scotland.”
The Scottish Greens, who were previously in Government with the SNP, have criticised the First Minister for his plans to meet the president. Co-leader Patrick Harvie said the meeting was “tragic” and “out of step with Scotland’s values”.