US President Elect Donald Trump will visit Scotland next year for the first time as president since 2018 to open his new golf course in Aberdeenshire, his son has confirmed.
Construction of the 18-hole MacLeod Course at the Trump International resort in Menie began last year and is expected to open for good next summer.
The last time Trump visited the country while serving as US president there were thousands protesting and even a paraglider stunt which saw an activist fly an anti-Trump banner over the course.
The Menie resort has proved controversial in the past with the dunes that flank the course having lost their status as a ‘nationally-important protected environment’ under his stewardship.
Trump International has claimed the new course will feature the ‘largest sand dunes in Scotland’ and form ‘the greatest 36 holes in golf’ alongside the original course at the resort.
They have also pushed back against greenwashing allegations, claiming that the course is ‘one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable’ ever built.
Eric Trump, who was visiting his family’s two golf courses in Scotland, confirmed his father will pay a visit to Aberdeenshire for the opening of a new golf course in 2025.
He also said his father ‘is not going to lose any sleep over’ John Swinney’s endorsement of his rival Kamala Harris prior to the US election, adding: ‘I’m not sure it bothers him one bit.’
Mr Trump said the Scottish Government had made it ‘virtually impossible’ to do business in the country.
He suggested that it was only his family’s ‘love’ for the country that kept them investing.
Speaking at the Trump International Golf Links in Balmedie, Mr Trump criticised Mr Swinney for intervening in the US election.
Asked about his endorsement of Mr Trump’s Democratic rival, he said: ‘It’s certainly something I was aware about but it certainly wasn’t really something I cared too much about to tell you the truth.
‘I mean, obviously [Swinney] read the temperature very wrong. He got it wrong. He got it very wrong because my father won decisively.
‘And so, you know, endorsing a person three days before an election in a different country, and missing the mark by as much as it was missed by, you know, he read the tea leaves incorrectly.’
He added: ‘Again, my father adores Scotland, and you have a First Minister coming out and just being fairly nasty in the days leading up.
‘I mean, who did that benefit? Did that benefit Scotland?
‘You know, you just asked about tariffs? Does that benefit that? If he ever needs to call my father and ask about tariffs or negotiate a base, does that benefit Scotland?’
Speaking to reporters at the Scottish Parliament just before the election, Mr Swinney said: ‘People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris.
‘And I’ve not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence.’
Following Mr Trump’s victory, Mr Swinney sent a letter to him saying that he wanted both countries to have a good relationship and wished the president-elect well.
