Scotland provides Trump three issues he likes – and one factor he would not

An inventory of Donald Trump’s favorite issues can be not possible to incorporate raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens (as Julie Andrews famously sang in The Sound of Music).

As a substitute, the president’s listing would absolutely have on it enjoying golf, a strategy to openly promote his industrial pursuits and, thirdly, commerce offers that generate billions of {dollars} for the US.

No marvel he seems so happy with himself – his working vacation in Scotland has delivered on all three of those passions.

On what was billed as a “personal go to” he acquired a whole lot of work carried out.

He’s taking residence with him a commerce take care of the EU which isn’t solely the most important in historical past, it is usually extraordinarily beneficial to the US.

The EU will spend tons of of billions of {dollars} shopping for American power and navy gear in addition to investing billions extra within the US financial system.

In return European items will likely be topic to a 15% tariff when they’re exported to the US reasonably than the 30% Trump had threatened.

The deal is a vital achievement for Trump to have the ability to boast about, even when he has did not conclude the “90 offers in 90 days” he had promised.

He additionally appeared to relish internet hosting Sir Keir and Woman Starmer at his Turnberry golf resort on Monday.

It was a peculiar spectacle, the British prime minister being welcomed as visitor in his personal nation.

However the PM was ready to miss the protocol when he was being handled to an uncommon and beneficial quantity of face time with the US president.

Trump is, in any case, a person whose international coverage is abnormally influenced by his private relations with different world leaders.

Their talks have been dominated by the disaster in Gaza. Starmer appeared to make some headway as he pressed Trump to make use of his affect to get extra meals into the Palestinian territory.

Trump mentioned afterwards that the US would work with the UK and different European companions to arrange meals centres, including that he’ll inform Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to make sure that meals will get to individuals who want it. “I need to be sure that they get the meals, each ounce of meals.”

He additionally appeared to offer the inexperienced mild to Starmer to formally recognise the state of Palestine regardless that that’s not one thing the US will do. “I am not going to take a place, I do not thoughts him taking a place,” he mentioned.

Trump additionally made a big change to his place on the battle in Ukraine.

He revealed that he’s now giving Russian President Vladimir Putin solely 10-12 days to conform to a ceasefire, not the 50 days he had beforehand given him.

“There’s is not any motive in ready… I need to be beneficiant however we simply do not see any progress being made.”

All of those main bulletins have been made throughout an exceptionally lengthy, wide-ranging and free-wheeling press convention, throughout which the US president appeared extraordinarily relaxed.

He was ready to speak at size about something from wind energy to immigration, together with his views on King Charles and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

There was one difficulty he couldn’t escape, a lot as he maybe needed to.

He was inevitably requested about Jeffrey Epstein, because the lengthy operating controversy about why he’s refusing to launch all of the recordsdata held by the US authorities on the deceased intercourse offender adopted him throughout the Atlantic.

A van displaying an previous {photograph} of Trump at a celebration with Epstein was driving round Aberdeenshire to ensure the president couldn’t escape the furore.

He advised us for the primary time why he fell out with the disgraced financier a few years in the past, saying that Epstein had poached workers from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and he refused to speak to him after that.

And he denied ever having despatched a lewd drawing to Epstein (as reported by the Wall St Journal), claiming that he solely ever attracts very fundamental photos of buildings.

The intrusion of the Epstein scandal into Trump’s Scottish journey was a reminder of what inevitably awaits him on his return to Washington however it didn’t appear to dent his buoyant temper.

A couple of anti-Trump protests have been staged. However they have been largely avoided the president himself and have been remarkably muted in contrast with earlier visits.

Probably the most decided demonstrators have been Trump followers who turned out to greet him as he landed in Prestwick and at each golf resorts, holding giant indicators welcoming him to Scotland.

The president additionally took each alternative to make use of this journey to proudly promote his two Scottish golf resorts.

He hosted the press conferences with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s govt, within the newly renovated ballroom at Turnberry, boasting of the opulent new ceiling and model new home windows similtaneously discussing famine in Gaza.

Arriving in Aberdeenshire with Starmer on board his Marine One helicopter, he took a few laps to indicate off the brand new golf course earlier than touchdown.

After talks with John Swinney on Tuesday morning, he had the Scottish first minister attend the official opening of the Trump Worldwide Golf Hyperlinks within the village of Balmedie, together with a number of VIPs and a phalanx of TV cameras.

It’s exceptionally uncommon for a US president to so nakedly use his workplace to advertise his personal industrial pursuits however it’s one thing Donald Trump clearly revels in doing.

Nearly as a lot as he enjoys enjoying golf. Which he managed to do on virtually each day of this journey.

Comply with the twists and turns of Trump’s second time period with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s weekly US Politics Unspun e-newsletter. Readers within the UK can enroll right here. These exterior the UK can enroll right here.