This week's Behind the Headlines comes from multimedia journalist Laura Pollock – to receive this newsletter direct to your inbox every week, click here to sign up.
FOR the majority of the time, our team has to work very hard to break through and defeat the vast, complex online algorithm — but not today.
Today's front page was very simple. We told the facts about a man who doesn't like the facts, at a time when the media doesn't talk about the facts nearly enough.
And people — across the world — appreciated that.
"Is this real?! (Please, please) love, a distressed American," commented Sara from Washington wrote on our Instagram.
Someone responded: "Looks legit to me, as an American. You'll need more front page days for all the facts that are coming out."
Another said, "love the headline. God, the Scottish are great," while someone else said: "I’m an American and I approved this message."
Former adviser to Hillary Clinton, Adam Parkhomenko, said: "The National’s front page as Donald Trump is set to arrive in Scotland today".
Republicans against Trump shared the front and wrote: "Trump’s heading to Scotland tomorrow. The Scottish papers aren’t exactly rolling out the red carpet."
And USA Today and CNN even gave us a mention in their coverage of the visit.
But of course, on the other side of the aisle, it was not loved.
Tom on Twitter/X wrote: "Wrong side of history you lot."
Anna from the States said: "Drama queens — Looks like a headline from a 1970s Ladies' gossip magazine."
The National was also branded "a leftist coward rag" and a "national embarrassment".
In 2023, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to buy her silence, as well as facing sexual assault allegations dating back to the 1970s.
He may be president, but the fact is, a man who openly boasted about grabbing women "by the pussy" is visiting Scotland. We do not welcome him.
The National newspaper series on Donald Trump: Read here
Earlier this year, I went to Lewis and explored the relationship between Donald Trump and his mother. Mary Anne MacLeod was born in Lewis and was an immigrant in the US, working as a maid before she met her husband, Fred Trump.
As I walked from her village of Tong to Stornoway, likely a walk undertaken by Mary Anne many times in her youth, I thought: "What would she say now?"
Would she chastise her son? Would she ask Fred to have a word? Would she do nothing?
Donald said in 1992 that he only ever saw his mother angry once. It was when he had defended the actions of boxer Mike Tyson, who had been accused of rape at the time. He was later convicted and sentenced.
Interviewer Charlie Rose said: “It is said that your mother said: ‘Enough, Donald. Shut up’.”
Donald agreed, explaining: “I think that's probably the first time that my mother absolutely got angry at me. I really mean that."
I don't believe Mary Anne would've stayed silent. And neither should we in the face of a criminal on the world stage.
