EDINBURGH, Scotland — As President Trump kicked off a weekend of golfing in his late mother's home country, hundreds of protesters rallied outside his resorts and in cities across Scotland — abseiling off a bridge, waving Palestinian flags and chanting for the U.S. president to be deported.
At a demonstration on Saturday outside the U.S. consulate in the capital Edinburgh, one protester held Scottish bagpipes in one arm, and a sign in the other. "At least this bag of hot air serves a purpose," it read. Another waved a banner saying "Scotland is already great"— a riff off Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
Protester Niamh Cunvin-Smith, 25, who traveled to the consulate protest from Inverness, asked, "Why on earth is this convicted felon allowed to come into our country and play golf when the people do not like him?"
Trump is a native son of Scotland, but most Scots don't like him
One recent poll found 71% of people in Scotland have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared to 57% of people in the United Kingdom overall. (Scotland is one of four countries, along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland, that comprise the U.K.)
Trump was golfing Saturday at one of his resorts in Turnberry, about 100 miles from the U.S. consulate, which was closed all weekend.
Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides islands. Her first language was Scottish Gaelic. She left at age 18 for New York, where she married Trump's father, had five children, and died in 2000.
Among the protesters gathered in Edinburgh was a distant relative of the American president, Janet MacLeod-Trotter, who held a sign that read "MacLeods against Trump." She said Trump was "misusing his heritage."
"A lot of Macleods are very upset with the way he's conducting all sorts of international and national issues," she said.
MacLeod-Trotter said members of the MacLeod clan were "ashamed" to see their family name associated with a new golf course in Aberdeenshire; Trump is expected to inaugurate the new course this weekend in honor of his mother.
"He doesn't do anything to help the people of Lewis, where his mother came from," MacLeod-Trotter said. "He just comes over to buy up golf courses and line his own pockets."
Scrutiny over his ties to Epstein trails Trump overseas
Questions about Trump's Gaza policy, tariffs and trade negotiations — and about his late, former friend, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — have followed the U.S. president to Scotland.
After Air Force One touched down Friday night in Glasgow, Trump told reporters on the tarmac that he was never briefed about his name being in any Epstein files. He said he has the power to pardon Epstein's ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking — but said he hasn't thought that much about it.
"You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing," Trump scolded reporters, reiterating comments from earlier that media should instead focus on Bill Clinton, "hedge fund guys," and other people suspected of having ties to Epstein.
"I'm focused on making deals. I'm not focused on conspiracy theories that you are," the president said late Friday. "I mean, I watch you people — it's so sad."
But it's not just the media. Some protesters in Edinburgh held aloft signs with photos of Trump and Epstein together. Similar photos have also appeared recently at bus stops in London. And earlier this week, Scottish protesters stealthily put up a sign outside one of Trump's golf resorts saying the property was "twinned with Epstein Island."
Many Scots say Trump's security during a private visit shouldn't fall to taxpayers
A major security operation is underway in Scotland for Trump's visit, with officers from forces around the U.K. deployed to support Scottish police. The police operation is expected to cost Scottish taxpayers millions of dollars.
Kerry Walsh, visiting Edinburgh from Glasgow, said she's concerned that "so much has been spent on him being here, and I don't know what the benefit of him being here is, if I'm honest."
The Scottish police union has also raised concerns about resources being stretched. Police warn it may take officers much longer to respond to other incidents as a result.
The president squeezes in work between rounds of golf
Trump is expected to be in Scotland through Tuesday. Toward the end of his stay, he's expected to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Scottish First Minister John Swinney, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Starmer and Trump announced a limited U.K-U.S. trade deal in May. The White House had said they would meet in Scotland to "refine" the deal. But upon his arrival, Trump said, "I think it's more of a celebration than a workout."
"It's a great deal for both, and we're going to have a meeting on other things, other than the deal," he said. "The deal is concluded."
But Trump has yet to sign a trade deal with the European Union. That's likely to be the focus of his meeting on Sunday in Turnberry with von der Leyen, whom Trump called a "highly-respected woman." He said there's a "50-50 chance" of a deal with the EU and cited sticking points with "maybe 20 different things."
Trump said a U.S.-EU trade deal "would be, actually, the biggest deal of them all, if we make it."
Trump will return to the UK in less than two months
This Scotland trip is a private presidential visit. Trump plans to return to the U.K. in September for a state visit with King Charles III at Windsor Castle near London. It's an unprecedented second state visit for Trump, who visited Charles' mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, also at Windsor, in 2019.
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