Donald Trump is in the UK for the first of two scheduled trips this year after he landed in Scotland on Friday for a five-day private trip.
It will be followed by an official state visit only a few months later, with King Charles III set to welcome the US president from 17 to 19 September.
Mr Trump arrived at Prestwick Airport on Friday evening before heading over to his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. He will leave the country at some point on Tuesday.
Later in the year, the three-day state visit will see the US president meet the King, whom he first met during his first presidential term. It’s also likely he will appear alongside Queen Camilla and prime minister Keir Starmer.
The US president was publicly invited on a state visit by Sir Keir during his audience in the White House in February. Hand-delivering an invitation from King Charles III, the prime minister said the visit would be “unprecedented” and “historic”.
“I think the last state visit was a tremendous success,” he said. “His Majesty the King wants to make this even better.”
Responding, Mr Trump said: “That’s a great, great honour … that’s really something,” adding: “The answer is yes, and we look forward to being there and honouring the King.”
What is Donald Trump planning to do in Scotland?
During his visit to his golf course in South Ayrshire, Mr Trump met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The pair had a short meeting before announcing that they had struck a trade deal to cut tariff rates down to 15 percent on imports from the trade bloc, while US exports will be tariff-free.
Ms Von der Leyen said: “We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it’s a big deal. It’s a huge deal.”
Sir Keir will be hoping for a similarly successful meeting when he meets Trump on Monday afternoon. A spokesperson for Downing Street said the PM wants to raise “progress on implementing the UK-US trade deal, hopes for a ceasefire in the Middle East and applying pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine.”
The US president will also meet with first minister John Swinney, who said ahead of the visit: “Scotland shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries.”
Trump’s presence has caused a significant operation for Police Scotland, with thousands of officers deployed to protect the president and deal with mass protests around his golf courses and major Scottish cities.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Aberdeen and Edinburgh to protest against the visit. There were no signs of protesters around Trump’s Turnberry golf course, with roads around the area closed during the visit.
What has been the criticism of Trump’s visit?
Both Mr Trump’s personal visit to Scotland, and later state visit, have been criticised by campaigners.
Ahead of Friday’s visit, a spokesperson for Stop Trump Scotland said: “The people of Scotland don’t want to roll out a welcome mat for Donald Trump, whose government is accelerating the spread of climate breakdown and fascism around the world.”
Several MPs and campaigners have also spoken out against the state visit invitation, arguing that Mr Trump’s divisive political views mean he should not receive the honour.
In April, Labour MP Kate Osbourne wrote to Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle asking him to prevent Mr Trump from addressing parliament.
The Newcastle MP also tabled a parliamentary motion, signed by 19 other MPs, which states it would be “inappropriate for President Trump to address parliament” due to his record on “misogyny, racism and xenophobia”.
However, White House sources have said the president had not planned to address parliament. The timing of his visit also coincides with when parliament is in recess, likely removing the possibility.
When was Trump’s last official visit to the UK?
Donald Trump’s first official state visit to the UK took place from 3 to 5 June 2019, around two years into his first presidential term. Alongside first lady Melania Trump, the US president met Queen Elizabeth II after arriving in the gardens of Buckingham Palace via helicopter.
This was followed by a visit to Westminster Abbey, and later a state banquet with then-prime minister Theresa May in attendance.
The event took place a year later than initially planned, after a planned state visit was downgraded to a one-day ‘working visit’ in July 2018.
A major protest was held in London before his July 2018 visit, with around 250,000 demonstrators reported to be in attendance. Organised by the ‘Stop Trump Coalition’, the event saw a giant, inflatable Mr Trump dressed as a baby fly over London.
A similar protest the following year against the delayed state visit drew thousands of attendees but did not reach the numbers of the 2018 protest.
Are there protests against the visits?
The Scottish wing of the Stop Trump Coalition planned a “festival of resistance” against the US president’s private visit to the country on Saturday, the day after his arrival. Protests took place in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.
The campaign group has also confirmed it is organising a national demonstration against Mr Trump’s state visit on 17 September, with attendees encouraged to gather at London’s Embankment.
Further protests are planned, the group has said, including one near Windsor Castle.
Stop Trump Coalition spokesperson Seema Syeda said: “This will be a massive protest against Trump’s state visit … Trump and his authoritarian politics are not welcome here.
“We know that Trump is deeply unpopular with the public. We mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against Trump during his first term, and he has only got worse since then.“
