Donald Trump is back out on the golf course on the second full day of his visit to Scotland before he meets the EU Commission president for trade talks. Despite showery conditions, the US president is playing another round at Turnberry in South Ayrshire with guests and family, including his son Eric. It is believed his only major business meeting will be with Ursula von der Leyen, who has said they will discuss “transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong”. Trump is due to meet UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney on Monday, as well as opening a second 18-hole course at his estate in Aberdeenshire. Von der Leyen met with Swinney on Saturday and thanked him for a “warm welcome in Scotland” in a post on Instagram. The president arrived in Scotland on Friday evening, with Air Force One touching down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport before his entourage travelled to nearby Turnberry. He has said he “it’s great to be in Scotland” and has praised Starmer and Swinney ahead of meeting them. A major security operation was ramped up at Turnberry before Trump played 18 holes on Saturday. He waved to photographers and the assembled media as his day passed without incident. Several roads remain closed in the area while police and military personnel have been carrying out checks around the resort. A security checkpoint has been put in place outside the hotel and a large fence has been erected around the course. Elsewhere, several hundred demonstrators gathered in both Aberdeen and Edinburgh on Saturday to protest against the visit. Trump is expected to meet Starmer and Swinney on Monday before officially opening his new golf course at Menie in Aberdeenshire. The US has a blanket 10% tariff on imports from countries around the world. In May Starmer struck a deal with the president to reduce tariffs on some British goods entering the US – it is expected their discussions will centre on this subject. Meanwhile Swinney has said his meeting with Trump would present an opportunity to “essentially speak out for Scotland” on issues such as trade and the increase of business from the United States in Scotland. The first minister said he would also raise “significant international issues” including “the awfulness of the situation in Gaza”. Trump will travel back to Washington on Tuesday and is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.
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