Donald Trump planned an entire trip to Britain without putting London on his agenda, in hopes of evading demonstrators — like the tens of thousands of protesters who clogged the streets of the British capital on Friday.
He might have known that avoiding the legions of folks across the pond who detest everything he stands for wouldn’t be quite that easy.
I have arrived in Scotland and will be at Trump Turnberry for two days of meetings, calls and hopefully, some golf – my primary form of exercise! The weather is beautiful, and this place is incredible! Tomorrow I go to Helsinki for a Monday meeting with Vladimir Putin.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2018
The US president was dogged for a second day by mass protests in Britain, as some 10,000 people massed in the streets of the Scottish capital Edinburgh.
Disdain for Trump in Britain runs so deep, that demonstrators felt compelled to track him down even at the remove of his secluded Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
The BBC wrote that protesters assembled on the perimeter of Turnberry booed and chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA” as he played a round of golf. BBC reporter Frankie McCamley captured the moment.
#BREAKING President Donald Trump waving a protestors who are calling him racist as he plays golf at #Turnberry @realDonaldTrump #TrumpProtests #TrumpVisitsUK #trump pic.twitter.com/aZFmqFzkzX
— Frankie McCamley (@Frankie_Mack) July 14, 2018
The visit to his golf property kicked off late Friday when a paragliding Greenpeace protester soared in the restricted airspace above the resort, prompting Trump to briefly run for cover. The Guardian reported that a banner wielded by the protester read: “Trump: Well Below Par. #RESIST.
The last time Trump’s golf course was in the news in a big way, as ThinkProgress’ Patrick Smith reported in May, it was over the sizable bill being run up to prepare for this week’s meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May and the president’s tea with Queen Elizabeth.
Trump last visited the resort himself in 2016, just hours after Britain voted to leave the European Union. In a head-scratching moment on Friday, Trump incorrectly asserted during a press conference that during his visit toTurnberry two years ago, he had predicted the outcome of the Brexit vote just before it happened. In fact, he didn’t actually show up until after the balloting was over.
After a couple of days of relaxation at Turnberry, the president was planning what could be the most consequential stop in his European tour: a long planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
The visit is scheduled to take place just days after a bombshell announcement from US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that 12 Russian military agents have been indicted for playing a role in hacking Democratic Party servers in 2015 and 2016.
The White House however has yet to address the development, except to assert — incorrectly — that it clears the president of wrongdoing.
The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration. Why didn’t they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2018
Trump meanwhile, adopting his preferred — and nonsensical — fallback position, blaming the hack Saturday on his predecessor Barack Obama.