Trump to visit Scotland next week, White House Confirms

Speculation mounted about a potential visit of the president this month when Police Scotland confirmed it was in the early stages of planning for such an event.

Speaking at a briefing in Washington DC on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Mr Trump will visit both of his golf courses in Scotland : Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire ; between July 25 and 29 .

It has already been confirmed Mr Trump will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer while in Aberdeen , while plans are being put in place for the president to meet First Minister John Swinney , according to the Scottish Government.

"President Trump will travel to Scotland , where he will visit both Turnberry and Aberdeen , from July 25 to July 29 ," Ms Leavitt said.

"During the visit, President Trump will meet again with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom ."

The president will return to the UK in September for his second state visit.

Earlier this week, President Trump told the BBC that the north-east of Scotland - the oil and gas capital of Europe - should "get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil".

The US president has long been an opponent of wind farms, objecting to a development off the coast of Aberdeen which can be seen from his golf course.

There had also been speculation the King would host the American leader in Scotland after Charles suggested the meeting, at Balmoral or Dumfries House, in a letter he wrote to Mr Trump in February inviting him to make the state visit.

But it is understood with the state visit not long after the proposed meeting both sides decided to wait until the formal gathering.

Meanwhile only about one quarter of US adults say that President Donald Trump’s policies have helped them since he took office, according to a new poll.

In fact, the Republican president fails to earn majority approval on any of the issues included in the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research.

He has even slipped slightly since earlier this year on immigration, which has consistently been a strength for him in his second term.

And while a majority of Americans do see Mr Trump as at least “somewhat” capable of getting things done following the passage of his sprawling budget bill, fewer believe he understands the problems facing people like them.

Roughly half of US adults report that Mr Trump’s policies have “done more to hurt” them since his second term began six months ago, the survey found.

About two in 10 say his policies have “not made a difference” in their lives, with about one quarter saying his policies have “done more to help” them.

The vast majority of Democrats and about half of independents say Mr Trump’s policies have had a negative impact, while even many Republicans say they have not seen positive effects.

The mixed reviews on Mr Trump’s policies come as he struggles to follow through on key campaign promises, including lowering costs for working-class Americans, preserving popular social welfare programmes like Medicaid, ending foreign wars and lowering government spending.

Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances.

Separately, Mr Trump’s budget bill included Medicaid cuts that will lead to 11.8 million more Americans becoming uninsured and add 3.3 trillion dollars to the national debt, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.

At the same time, violent conflicts still rage in Israel and Ukraine.