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EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — President Donald Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland’s coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American.
Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family’s company took over in 2014. Security was tight around the Turnberry course, and protesters kept at a distance were unseen by the group during Trump’s round. He was dressed in black, with a white “USA” cap, and was spotted driving a golf cart.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Speakers on a makeshift stage told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and they criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K.
Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a “Stop Trump Coalition.” Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were “kind of like a carnival of resistance.”
June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh wore a red cloak and white hood, recalling “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Osbourne held up picture of Trump with “Resist” stamped over his face.
“I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him and we should not accept him here,” Osbourne said. The dual-U.S.-British citizen said the Republican president was “the worst thing that has happened to the world, the U.S., in decades.”
Trump’s late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and the president has suggested he feels right at home in the country. But the protesters were out to make him feel unwelcome.
“I don’t think I could just stand by and not do anything,” said Amy White, 15, of Edinburgh, who attended with her parents. She held a cardboard sign that said “We don’t negotiate with fascists.” She said ”so many people here loathe him. We’re not divided. We’re not divided by religion, or race or political allegiance, we’re just here together because we hate him.”
Other demonstrators held signs of pictures with Trump and Jeffrey Epstein as the fervor over files in the case has increasingly frustrated the president.
In the view of Mark Gorman, 63, of Edinburgh, “the vast majority of Scots have this sort of feeling about Trump that, even though he has Scottish roots, he’s a disgrace.” Gorman, who works in advertising, said he came out “because I have deep disdain for Donald Trump and everything that he stands for.”
Saturday’s protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that came out across Scotland when Trump played at the resort during his first term in 2018.
But as bagpipes played, people chanted “Trump Out!” and raised homemade signs that said “No red carpet for dictators,” “We don’t want you here” and “Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.”
One dog had a sign that said “No treats for tyrants.”
Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow.
Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who is also set to meet with Trump during the visit, announced that public money will go to staging the 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known previously as the Scottish Championship, at Trump’s first course near Aberdeen next month.
“The Scottish Government recognizes the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy,” Swinney said.
Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus.
The Trump family will also visit another Trump course, in the Aberdeen area in northeastern Scotland. They plan to cut a ribbon on Tuesday, opening the second Trump course.
At a protest Saturday in Aberdeen, Scottish Parliament member Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: “We stand in solidarity, not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.”
The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership.
In a social media post Saturday, Trump quoted the retired golfer Gary Player as saying Turnberry was among the “Top Five Greatest Golf Courses” he had played in as a professional. The president, in the post, misspelled the city where his golf course is located.