Donald Trump flies into Scotland later to visit two golf resorts which he owns in the country where his mother was born.
He will travel to Turnberry in South Ayrshire, a world class venue he bought in 2014, and to Menie in Aberdeenshire to open a new 18-hole course.
The White House says Trump will also meet prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss trade while he is in the UK.
The trip is exceptional as US presidents rarely promote their personal interests so publicly while in office.
It is not the first time that Trump has been accused of conflating his own affairs with the nation’s.
Even so, with Gaza and Ukraine in flames, the dollar on the slide, and questions mounting about his ties to convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, Trump’s decision to focus on golf has raised eyebrows.
A huge security operation, which has been under way for weeks, has been scaled up in recent days.
Giant transport aircraft carrying military hardware, including the president’s helicopters, known when he is on board by the call sign Marine One, have been spotted at Aberdeen and Prestwick airports.
Roads and lanes in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire have been secured and closed.
Airspace restrictions have been issued.
Police reinforcements have been heading north across the England-Scotland border.
[BBC]
