President Donald Trump is trying to shake off the Jeffrey Epstein drama as he seeks a reprieve in Scotland for a business and golf trip.
Trump departed on Friday morning for his Trump Turnberry hotel on Scotland’s West Coast. He arrived in Turnberry on Friday night, with dinner with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday and a meeting with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Sunday, before he is expected to travel to Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, outside of Aberdeen on the country’s Northeast Coast, on Monday.
The president will attend the grand opening of a new golf course on his Aberdeenshire property named after his Scottish-born mother, Mary Anne Macleod.
But while Trump may be hoping his trip provides an opportunity for criticism from his own political base over the files to dissipate, Epstein-related protests have already been reported in Scotland, including a sign appearing outside his Aberdeenshire golf course saying “twinned with Epstein Island.”
For University of Aberdeen History and International Affairs Chairman Thomas Weber, Trump will have to contend with a Scotland “that has been gearing up in recent days to put a stink against him” beyond just the Epstein issue throughout his five-day trip.
“The National, one of Scotland’s national newspapers, came up with an anti-Trump headline running all across its front page, right under the masthead and Trump’s eyes only: ‘Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland: Republican leader, who was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, will visit golf courses,’” Weber told the Washington Examiner. “Meanwhile, protesters have hung off Scotland’s most famous bridge in protest of his visit. And the Stop Trump Coalition U.K. has sprung back into life to field protests against Trump.”
Weber, who is also a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, added that Scottish authorities are “clearly nervous” about protests, with thousands of Police Scotland officers being deployed to protect Trump.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman echoed spokespeople from Turnberry’s South Ayrshire Council in telling the Washington Examiner her local government would play “a supportive role to other partners” regarding protests, specifically the police.
Before his departure on Friday from the White House, Trump previewed that he and Starmer would be “fine-tuning” the United States-United Kingdom trade deal during their meeting, but that they would be doing “a little celebrating together” too.
“We get along very well,” he told reporters. “The U.K. has been trying to make a deal with us for, like, 12 years and have not been able to do it. We got it done.”
Trump went on to say there is a “50-50 chance,” “maybe less than that,” that he would return with a trade deal with the EU, where the European bloc would “have to buy down their tariffs.” Of a potential meeting with Scottish First Minister John Swinney, the president spoke of his mother, who was born on Scotland’s Outer Hebrides and raised speaking Gaelic before she immigrated to the U.S. in 1930, underscoring “we have a lot of things in Scotland.”
Regarding Trump’s meetings, Weber, the University of Aberdeen professor, predicted Starmer and Swinney, at least, would likely rely on what he described as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte‘s strategy of “managing Trump,” which is to “make Trump feel appreciated” and use his “emotional attachment to Scotland and Britain to improve Britain’s and Scotland’s political capital and bargaining power.”
“This is a balancing act, due to the general anti-Trump sentiment in Scotland, ever since Trump and former First Minister Alex Salmond got into a spitting match over the wind farms off the coast of Scotland,” he said. “But they need to make sure that they won’t get too cozy with Trump, being publicly perceived as George W. Bush‘s poodle was the kiss of death for former [Prime Minister] Tony Blair.”
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, agreed, arguing “whatever your personal views of the man, there can be no denying that his decision to invest in our region has brought long-term economic benefits and put this part of the world on the map for millions of people.”
“At a time when we are striving to diversify the Northeast economy and strengthen its resilience beyond oil and gas, this kind of high-profile, globally resonant development is exactly the kind of good news story we need,” Borthwick told the Washington Examiner. “Mr. Trump’s long-standing connection to Scotland and his evident pride in his mother’s Hebridean roots have translated into a sustained commitment to Aberdeenshire. That should be [recognized].”
But amid promoting Trump Turnberry as “the best resort” and “one of the greatest courses” in the “world,” Trump was also asked during his departure about Epstein after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, met with the convicted sex offender’s partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, on Thursday and Friday in Florida. Maxwell has been serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison since 2021 after she was convicted of sex trafficking a minor and transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Blanche sat down with Maxwell after Attorney General Pam Bondi had been criticized for overpromising and underdelivering regarding disclosing the Epstein files, including telling Fox News in February the late financier’s alleged client list was “on her desk” when the FBI reported this month that no list existed. She has since insisted she was referring to the entire Epstein files, and last week the Justice Department unsuccessfully applied to a court to publicize sealed grand jury testimony.
Trump expressed frustration on Friday with the questions, reiterating “people should really focus on how well the country is doing or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup,” a reference to documents released by the Trump administration alleging that the former president and his administration amplified ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
Trump additionally told reporters he is “allowed” to pardon Maxwell, though he remained adamant “it’s something I have not thought about,” going on to deny writing a 50th birthday message to Epstein in 2003 that the Wall Street Journal reported on last week.
“Somebody could have written a letter and used my name, and that’s happened a lot,” he said.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump is on the “contributor list” for Epstein’s 50th birthday book and sent him a signed copy of his 1997 book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback.
A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal also reported that Trump was advised in May that he is in the Epstein files, despite telling reporters last week he was not briefed by the Justice Department. He denied it again twice on Friday.
“No, I was never briefed,” Trump said on Friday upon his arrival in Glasgow before traveling to Turnberry. “Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons.”
While Trump hopes being away from Washington will help the Epstein criticism dissipate, so too does House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told House lawmakers this week they could start their August recess one day earlier with the same aim. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, could postpone senators’ recess if they do not confirm Trump’s nominees after the president this week put pressure on the chamber to cancel its summer recess.
To that end, Democrats are attempting to use Epstein against Trump. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is encouraging his members to continue calling for the release of the files during August recess, regardless of some Democrats preferring to leverage issues, including the One Big Beautiful Act cuts to Medicare and next week’s tariff deadline. That complements the Democratic National Committee’s Epstein digital ads, which will be aired in Republican House districts on YouTube channels, such as those of Fox News, Charlie Kirk, and Ben Shapiro.
A TIMELINE OF TRUMP AND EPSTEIN’S RELATIONSHIP, FROM FRIENDSHIP TO FALLOUT AND BEYOND
“It’s a terrible time for him to be leaving,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told the Washington Examiner. “People are furious about the Epstein cover-up, pissed about inflation, and angry about the tariffs. He should be here, talking to the American people and doing his job, not off at his golf courses.”
Republican strategist John Feehery countered to the Washington Examiner, “I imagine the media will come up with some storyline that Epstein saw Trump in Scotland and they had a wild weekend 30 years ago. There is no way that the media will allow this story to go away.”
