EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Battled by freezing winds and looking out over rough, steel-gray North Sea waters, the stunning sand dunes along Scotland’s northeastern coastline are considered some of the most impressive.Donald Trumphis favorite places in the world.
“At some point, perhaps in my advanced years, I’ll go there and perform the most breathtaking act you’ve ever witnessed,” Trump stated in 2023, during his New York appearance.civil fraud trial, discussing his plans for future developments on his property in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.
At 79 years old and back in the White House, Trump is fulfilling at least a portion of that promise, traveling to Scotland on Friday as his family’s business gets ready for the August 13 debut of a new course it calls “the greatest 36 holes in golf.”
While there, Trump will discuss trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the meeting reportedly set to occur at “one of my properties.”
The Aberdeen region already features one of his courses, Trump International Scotland, and the president also intends to visit a Trump course near Turnberry, approximately 200 miles (320 kilometers) away along Scotland’s southwest coast.
This week’s presidential trip abroad, featuring a large group of advisors, White House staff, support personnel, Secret Service agents, and journalists, was used to highlight Trump-style golf locations, illustrating how the president has grown more at ease blending his official duties with advancing his family’s business ventures.
The White House has dismissed inquiries regarding possible conflicts of interest, contending that Trump’s business achievements prior to his entry into politics were central to his popularity among voters.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers referred to the Scotland visit as a “working trip.” However, she noted that Trump “has created the finest and most stunning world-class golf courses found anywhere in the world, which is why they remain in use for”prestigious tournamentsand by the top players in the sport.
New golf course owned by the Trump family is offering available tee times for purchase
Trump visited Scotland to play the Turnberry course during his first term in 2018 while traveling to a meeting in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This time, his visit coincides with the launch of the new golf course and it is already offering booking opportunities.
It’s not inexpensive for the president to travel.
Helicopters used as Marine One when the president is aboard have an operational cost ranging from $16,700 to almost $20,000 per hour, as reported by Pentagon figures for fiscal year 2022. The customized Boeing 747s that represent the famous Air Force One incur a cost of approximately $200,000 per hour in flight. This does not include the military transport planes that accompany the president, carrying his armored limousines and other official vehicles.
At this stage, the Trump administration is so deeply connected to the Trump business that he appears not to recognize much of a distinction,” said Jordan Libowitz, vice president and spokesperson for the ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s as though the White House has become almost an extension of the Trump Organization.
During his initial term, theTrump Organization signed an ethics pactexcluding agreements with foreign companies. An ethical framework for Trump’s second term permits them.
Trump’s properties are managed through a trust overseen by his children, who are also responsible for the daily management of the Trump Organization during his time in the White House. The company has entered into several recent, profitable international deals related to golf courses, including upcoming projects.to buildluxury projects in Qatar andVietnam, even as the administration keeps working on setting tariff rates for those nations and worldwide.
Trump’s initial Aberdeen course has led to legal disputes
Trump’s current Aberdeenshire course has a history that is almost as turbulent as the region’s cliffs.
It has found it difficult to generate revenueand was discovered by Scottish conservation officials to havepartially destroyednearby sand hills. Trump’s company was also required to pay the Scottish government’s legal expenses following the coursesued in vain regarding the development of a nearby wind power facility, contending in part that it affected golfers’ scenery.
And the proceeding was included in the large civil lawsuit, which charged Trump with exaggerating his net worth to obtain loans and facilitate business transactions.
The original plans for Trump’s company’s first course in the Aberdeen area included a luxury hotel and surrounding residential properties. The company was granted approval to construct 500 homes, but according to the lawsuit, Trump claimed he could build five times that number and used the property values as collateral without actually constructing any residences.
Judge Arthur Engoronfound Trump responsible last year and required his company to make a payment$355 million in fines— a ruling that has accumulated interest to over $510 million as Trump continues the appeal.
Golfers-in-chief
Apart from family financial matters, Trump is not the first U.S. president currently in office to play golf in Scotland. This honor belongs to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who played at Turnberry in 1959. George W. Bush went to the well-known Gleneagles course in 2005 but did not take part in a game.
Numerous historians believe golf originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. One of the first documented mentions of the sport was a Scottish Parliament decision in 1457 that aimed to prohibit it, alongside soccer, due to concerns that these activities were diverting men’s attention from archery practice — which was seen as essential for national security.
The first U.S. president who regularly played golf was William Howard Taft, who was in office from 1909 to 1913. He paid no attention to advice from his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, who warned that playing too much might give the impression that he wasn’t working diligently.
Woodrow Wilson played golf every day except Sundays, and he even had the Secret Service paint his golf balls red so he could practice in the snow, according to Mike Trostel, director of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Warren G. Harding taught his dog Laddie Boy to retrieve golf balls as he practiced. Lyndon B. Johnson’s swing was occasionally compared to a man attempting to strike a rattlesnake.
Bill Clinton, known for joking that his skills got better during his presidency, brought back a putting green to the South Lawn of the White House. It was first put in place by Eisenhower, who used it so frequently that he left indentations on the wooden floor of the Oval Office near the door leading to it.
George ceased playing golf following the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 due to public perception. Barack Obama had a golf simulator placed in the White House, which Trump enhanced during his initial term, according to Trostel.
John F. Kennedy kept his passion for golf mostly private during his presidency, although he was part of Harvard’s golf team and almost achieved a hole-in-one at the famous Cypress Point Golf Club in California shortly before the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
“I’d say, compared to President Trump and President John F. Kennedy, they are among the most talented golfers who have played in the White House,” Trostel stated.
According to Trostel, Trump has a handicap index — which indicates how many strokes above par a golfer is expected to play — of 2.5, which is quite strong, although he hasn’t recorded an official round with the U.S. Golf Association since 2021. This is better than Joe Biden’s handicap of 6.7, which may also be out of date, and Obama, who once said his own handicap was an “honest 13.”
The White House characterized Trump as a top-tier golfer but mentioned that he competes without any handicap.
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A report by Associated Press journalist Chris Megerian in Washington was contributed.
