Campaigners pledge to protest Donald Trump trip if he visits Scotland

Protesters have promised to turn out in force if Donald Trump includes Scotland as part of his official state visit to the UK this summer.

Buckingham Palace confirmed today that the US President and his wife Melania will be guests of the Queen when they land in the UK.

Mr Trump’s official trip is scheduled for June 3 to 5, and follows a working visit he made to Britain last summer.

The president will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark 75 years since the D-Day landings and will also have official talks with the prime minister at Downing Street.

Donald Trump outside the refurbished Turnberry Hotel and golf course in 2015. He returned to the Ayrshire resort as US president in 2018 and could do so again this year. Picture: John Devlin

But speculation is growing that Mr Trump will also spend at least part of his visit in Scotland, where he owns two golf courses and has family links through his late mother, Mary, who was born on the Isle of Lewis.

The Scottish Government said today it had not been approached by the UK Government regarding Mr Trump’s trip. A spokeswoman added that ministers were unaware of any official plans for the president to visit Scotland.

Thousands took to the streets of Edinburgh in July last year on the day Mr Trump played golf during a visit to his Turnberry resort on the Ayrshire coast.

Jonathon Shafi, a co-founder of the Scotland United Against Trump group, said large-scale protests would be called at short notice if required.

“Last time Donald Trump visited Scotland tens of thousands took to the streets,” he told The Scotsman. “Should he come to Scotland again, we will organise mass demonstrations and protests to ensure that a clear message is sent.

“One that says he is not welcome here, and that his toxic brand of politics will be opposed.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We have not been approached by the UK Government in relation to the recently announced State visit by President Trump to the UK, and we are not aware of any official plans for President Trump to visit Scotland.

“Scotland has deep and longstanding ties of family, friendship and business with the United States, which will continue to endure. However, we will not compromise our fundamental values of equality, diversity, and human rights and we expect these values to be made clear during the President’s visit to the UK.”

Theresa May had extended the offer of a state visit to Mr Trump early in his presidency when she met the US leader for the first time in the White House in January 2017.

The state visit was expected that year but no date was set. The US leader’s 2018 trip across the Atlantic had many of the trappings of a state visit, including a meeting with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Mr Trump will be hosted by the Queen at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle and the visit is likely to follow the traditional format of an official open-air welcome, featuring prestigious British regiments, lunch with the Queen and a state banquet.

State visits normally last three days, and once the ceremonial elements with the Queen have been completed, visiting heads of state follow an itinerary that reflects their own interests and political aims.

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