Former U.S. president Donald Trump told waiting reporters that it was “great to be home” as he arrived in Aberdeen for a short visit to his Scottish golf courses.
The private jet of the businessman – whose mother Mary hailed from Lewis – landed just after 11:25 a.m. local time, with the Republican disembarking around half an hour later.
He was met by two pipers, a red carpet, a 10-vehicle motorcade, and Sarah Malone, the Executive Vice President of Trump International, Scotland.
He spoke briefly to journalists, though refused to answer to questions.
Ahead of the visit, he took to Truth Social, the social media platform he founded, to say he would be visiting the Balmedie golf club he owns to open a “spectacular” second course.
He is also due to visit his Turnberry course in Ayrshire.
It is the first time he has been in Scotland since 2018 when he visited during a state visit.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The golf courses and hotels are among the greatest in the world – Turnberry and Aberdeen, in Scotland, and Doonbeg, in Ireland.
“Will be meeting with many wonderful friends, and cutting a ribbon for a new and spectacular second course in Aberdeen.
“Very exciting despite the fact that it is ‘make America great again’ that is on my mind, in fact, America will be greater than ever before.”
Donald Trump arrives at Aberdeen International Airport in Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland, on Monday May 1, 2023. (Photo: Press Association via AP Images)
Asked last week if he will meet Trump, who has made controversial statements about Muslims in the past, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I would find it difficult, I have to say, to meet with him without raising the significance of concerns I have of the remarks that he’s made in the past.”
In 2021, the day after the deadly Jan. 6 riots, Yousaf said the Home Office should “give serious consideration to denying him entry.”
He said the Home Secretary had the power to stop a person coming into the UK if their “presence is not conducive to the public good.”
“Trump’s default is to stir up racial tension and yesterday he incited a violent mob.”
Trump’s visit comes as he faces a number of legal troubles back home.
The controversial tycoon, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 election, is the only former U.S. President to have criminal charges filed against them.
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