Trump on golf retreat in Scotland as protests against his visit continue

Donald Trump will spend a relaxed weekend playing golf at a resort he owns in Scotland as protests against the US President's visit to the UK continue.

Environmental group Greenpeace flew a paraglider with a banner "Trump: Well Below Par" as the US President arrived at his Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, where he and First Lady Melania Trump are staying for the private leg of their UK visit

A pilot-protestor flew into the no-fly zone just yards from the US President.

"It is a criminal offence to fly within the airspace restriction zone and officers are carrying out enquiries to trace the pilot," said Mark Williams, assistant chief constable of Police Scotland.

 

Trump, whose mother was Scottish, arrived in Scotland after tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle last evening.

White House officials were caught up in an embarrassing Twitter row over the journey as they tweeted from the official Oval Office account: "Today,@realDonaldTrumpand @FLOTUS had tea with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle before departing the UK."

Twitter users were quick to jump on the error, saying the President's team needed an urgent geography lesson.

A Twitter user wrote, "He's still in UK, idiots."

Another helpfully added, "Dear White House, England, Wales, Scotland, + Northern Ireland = UK. England, Wales, + Scotland = Great Britain. England = England. #BuyAnEncyclopedia."

Trump's visit has already attracted nearly 1,00,000 protesters to the heart of the city, who marched through the streets as a giant orange inflatable balloon of the US President flew over Parliament Square yesterday. Protesters and anti-Trump campaigners also gathered at George Square in Glasgow and Dundee in Scotland last evening.

The protests will continue with a "national demonstration" at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh as protestors walk to the Meadows for what has been dubbed a "carnival of resistance", which will feature another giant Trump Baby balloon. The orange angry baby inflatable image of Trump in a nappy shifted venue after it was banned by air traffic controllersat Turnberry, where the President is staying.

Trump has often spoken of his love for Scotland and its people and had been a regular visitor to the country for many years, but this is his first trip since becoming the US President. He and Melania waved as they left Air Force One shortly after arriving at Prestwick Airport in Scotland, before being taken away in a large convoy of black vehicles for the 20-mile journey to Turnberry.

Trump was greeted by Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who said the visit was an "opportunity to strengthen those vital links" between the UK and the US. He is not expected to meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has been a very vocal critic of the US President.

The weekend getaway for the Trumps comes after two days comprising the "working visit", which saw the American visitors being hosted at a black-tie dinner at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire by British Prime Minister Theresa May, and bilateral talks between the leaders at the latter's country retreat of Chequers.

At a joint press conference on the lawns of Chequers, Trump sought to back-pedal from some of his earlier controversial remarks over May's Brexit strategy. He said he was convinced that her new contentious Brexit White Paper would not rule out a US trade deal, dubbing his words in an interview with the 'Sun' newspaper as fake news. He also lavished praise on the British PM, describing her as "an incredible woman who is doing a fantastic job.

On US-UK relations, which he labelled as the "highest level of special", Trump claimed his visit had helped build an even a better relationship.

"There will be no limit to the possibility of us doing trade deals around the rest of the world once we leave the European Union on the basis of the agreement that was made here at Chequers and that I've put forward to the European Union," May added.

At the end of his UK visit, Trump is due to leave Scotland tomorrow, when he will travel to Finland ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.