Trump plays golfs in Scotland while protesters take to streets, decry his visit

President Donald Trump played golf Saturday (July 26, 2025) 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.

Mr. 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, and protesters kept at a distance wand 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.

The President appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 160 kilometres away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Speakers told the crowd that Mr. Trump was not welcome and criticised 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 organiser, 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-US-British citizen said the Republican president was “the worst thing that has happened to the world, the US, in decades.” Mr. Trump’s late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and the president has suggested he feels at home in the country. But the protesters did their best to change that.

“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 fervour 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 demonstrated across Scotland when Mr. Trump played at Turnberry during his first term in 2018.

But, as bagpipes played, people chanted “Trump Out!” and raised dozens of homemade signs that said things like “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.

Mr. Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus.