Donald Trump landed in Scotland yesterday. Raising his fist as usual, the 76-year-old former American president smiled at photographers and assured that “it feels good to be home”, as his mother was born on the Isle of Lewis before emigrating to the United States. .

It was he who revealed his journey a few hours earlier through the Truth Social network where he never forgot that he would run again for the White House next year. “I will be meeting many good friends and cutting the ribbon to launch the second spectacular new course in Aberdeen. It’s interesting though what I have in mind is making America great again. “In fact, America will be greater than ever,” he added. He is the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination, so everything suggests that his 2020 race against Democratic President Joe Biden will be a repeat.

This is the first time the controversial politician has visited the UK since 2019 after leaving office. Because it was private, authorities did not need to carry out security operations like those in 2018, when his visit to Scotland sparked large-scale protests in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Of course, when it comes to Trump, his arrival at Aberdeen Airport yesterday did not go unnoticed. The former president landed at midday in his private Boeing 757 and a red carpet, two bagpipers and ten cars were waiting for them. At press time, it was unclear whether the new chairman of the Scottish Executive, pro-independence Humza Yousaf, whose father is Pakistani and mother is Kenyan, had any intention of meeting him over his controversial views on Muslims. “I have to say that it would be difficult to meet with him without raising my concerns regarding comments he has made in the past,” he said.

What is clear from number 10 Downing Street is that there are no plans to even open a coffee shop. Trump’s visit comes just four days after Governor Ron DeSantis visited London as part of his tour of states with significant investments in the State of Florida. The Republican, who is essentially offering Trumpism without Trump and is expected to announce his candidacy in the coming days, met with the British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, and the head of Business, Kemi Badenoch. However, he did not get an appointment with the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, because the British Prime Minister did not want to interfere in the Republican primaries.

Trump is therefore expected to spend the next few days at his golf course in the Menie area of ​​Balmedie, just north of the city, holding meetings and playing one of his favorite sports. He was due to travel today to the world-famous Turnberry course and hotel in South Ayrshire, which his company bought in 2014 and has since spent millions of pounds improving.

According to media, he could be accompanied by his son, Eric, who is executive vice president of the Trump Organization, responsible for the two Scottish camps. Accounts published earlier this year showed Turnberry posted a pre-tax loss of £3.7m in 2021 and the Balmedie course £697,000.

Finally, the former US president is expected to land at Shannon Airport in the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday before visiting the Trump International Hotel and Golf Links outside Doonbeg in County Clare.

During his controversial mandate, Trump made an official visit to the UK in 2018 that was not without protests and even a breakdown of protocol in his meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth II. After all, controversy is a politician’s personal characteristic. He is the first former US president to face criminal trial after pleading not guilty earlier this year to falsifying business records to conceal information ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The charge relates to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. On the other hand, he is also facing a civil trial on charges of allegedly raping an advisor almost three decades ago.