Donald Trump touches down in Scotland with call to 'stop the windmills'
US President Donald Trump has arrived at Prestwick Airport
Donald Trump raised the prospect of agreeing a trade deal with the UK, and urged European countries to “get your act together” on migration and “stop the windmills”, as he touched down in Scotland amid heavy security.
Air Force One, carrying the US President, landed at Prestwick Airport at 8.28pm on Friday with Mr Trump greeted by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray. Mr Trump then was taken by his armoured car, known as The Beast, to his Turnberry golf resort on the Ayrshire coast.
Ahead of his trip to Scotland, the US President indicated he and Sir Keir Starmer could “approve” the US-UK trade deal when the two leaders meet.
Speaking to journalists after disembarking from Air Force One, Mr Trump said: “We’re going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.”
Hundreds of people gathered beside the runway at Prestwick Airport ahead of Mr Trump’s arrival, many having waited all day to get a glimpse of the arrival of the world’s most famous man.
But there were no protests to greet the US President’s arrival in Scotland as onlookers clapped and cheered as Air Force One touched down, with a couple of Trump and MAGA flags and hats dotted amongst the crowds. Big protests are expected during Mr Trump’s visit to Scotland over the coming days.
European countries need to “get your act together” on migration, and “stop the windmills”, Donald Trump insisted, as he arrived in Ayrshire.
He added: “You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds, and if they’re stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans.
“Stop the windmills, and also, I mean, there’s a couple of things I could say, but on immigration, you’d better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore.”
Mr Trump praised Sir Keir as “a good man” and confirmed they will be meeting on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived at Prestwick, the US president said: “I like your Prime Minister, he’s slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he’s a good man. He got a trade deal done.
“You know, they’ve been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done – that’s a good deal, it’s a good deal for the UK.”
Mr Trump also claimed that illegal migration was an “invasion” which was “killing Europe”.
The Scotch Whisky Association have called on the Prime Minister to “seize the moment” in meeting the US President and thrash out a deal with Mr Trump to ditch his controversial tariffs on Scotch whisky.
In April Mr Trump introduced a 10 per cent import tariff on UK goods, including whisky, entering the US.
Ahead of his visit, Mr Trump has said he is looking forward to meeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who he is expected to meet as well as the Prime Minister.
Mr Trump will visit both of the golf clubs he owns in the country – Turnberry in South Ayrshire and Menie, near Aberdeen, in the coming days.
Before boarding the presidential plane Air Force One to fly to Scotland, he told journalists: “The Scottish leader is a good man, so I look forward to meeting him.”
He also said he has a “lot of love” for Scotland.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Swinney said the meeting will be “an opportunity to “essentially speak out for Scotland” on international issues such as Gaza, as well as trade and the increase of business from the United States in Scotland.
“There are clearly also significant international issues upon which the people of Scotland have a view and want to have that view expressed by their First Minister,” he said.
“That relates to the awfulness of the situation in Gaza and the unbearable human suffering that is going on in Gaza.
“I want to make sure that those concerns and those views are expressed to the president of the United States.
“We have that opportunity, and I intend to take that opportunity to make sure that Scotland’s voice is heard.”
Mr Swinney also urged all of those set to protest against the president’s visit to do so “peacefully and to do so within the law”.
The US President and Sir Keir are poised to be at odds over the future of energy - with Mr Trump calling on the UK to revive the Aberdeen oil and gas sector, while the Prime Minister has upset the industry by extending the windfall tax on fossil fuels companies and vowing to end new licences in the North Sea.
Ahead of the Prime Minister meeting President Trump earl next week, the CEO of energy industry body, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), David Whitehouse, has written to Sir Keir, welcoming him on his “first visit to Aberdeen - Europe’s energy capital -since becoming Prime Minister more than a year ago”.
Mr Whitehouse has stressed that as Sir Keir meets Mr Trump, “the whole world will be watching”.
He added: “The simple thing we are asking you to do is agree that homegrown energy is best. If we are going to use oil and gas, let us produce it here in the UK - responsibly, alongside an accelerated rollout of renewables.
“We are asking for a pragmatic conversation about the future of the North Sea which recognises and prioritises homegrown energy. The outcomes of consultations on licensing, future taxes and the wider North Sea are of national importance.
“We invite you to visit our members and hear directly from those whose futures are at stake. We are committed to your government’s ambition to kickstart growth. The world is watching, and we have much to offer.
“A modern industrial Britain should be built on proud industries like ours. Support homegrown energy. Secure the future of the North Sea.”
But campaigners have insisted that Mr Trump’s position on oil and gas and “repeated attacks” on offshore renewables “reveal how wildly out of step he is with the people of Scotland, the UK and most of the world”.
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift added: “Why on earth would Scotland forego some of the best wind resources on the planet and abandon an industry that is vital to replacing declining oil and gas jobs?
“His demand for more drilling is pure fantasy – it will do nothing to provide us with an affordable supply of energy. New drilling won’t cut bills and, after 50 years of extraction, the basin is fast running out of gas – that’s geology not a political choice.”
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