If President Donald Trump’s plans for after he leaves office include traveling internationally, he will not be able to do so in Scotland, according to that country’s head of government.
Rumors have abounded as of late that the president could be planning to visit his Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland as soon as he’s no longer residing in the White House. President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated as president at noon on January 20.
Reports in Scottish news media indicate there has been some unusual U.S. military activity at Prestwick Airport, which is near the Turnberry property that Trump owns. Surveillance aircraft have also been spotted flying over the golf resort, and a Boeing 757 previously used by Trump has been scheduled to land at the airport on January 19.
That activity, as well as Trump staying silent about his post-presidential plans while continuing his errant assertion that he won the election and will remain president, have led some to speculate that he may be planning to visit Scotland prior to Biden’s inauguration, skipping that event altogether in the process.
Trump’s aides in the White House have decried the reports, but they’ve also not denied that the president could be planning some form of international travel.
“Anonymous sources who claim to know what the president is or is not considering have no idea. When President Trump has an announcement about his plans for January 20, he will let you know,” deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere said in response to the rumors.
Whether Trump is planning a trip to his golf resort or not, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the president would not be allowed to enter the country, citing current coronavirus restrictions in the greater United Kingdom.
Scotland’s restrictions currently allow no visitors to travel there unless there is an essential purpose for doing so.
“That would apply to him just as it applies to anybody else, and coming to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose,” Sturgeon said this week.
Sturgeon insisted her comments did not imply that she knew anything at this point about what Trump’s plans were, or if they included Scotland. But she did make it clear that she hoped his plans did include moving out of his current residence.
“I hope and expect that – as everybody expects, not everybody necessarily will hope – that the travel plan immediately that he has is to exit the White House,” Sturgeon said.
Trump is not particularly well-liked in Scotland. A poll conducted last fall found that only 12 percent of Scots wanted to see him win another four-year term in the U.S. presidential election this year. Nearly 7 in 10 said they wanted Biden to win.
While Trump continues to insist that he will remain in office past January 20, the election results, including the Electoral College, are set to be affirmed on Wednesday during a joint session of Congress. A number of Republicans are planning on challenging those results, which show Biden defeating Trump by an Electoral College margin of 306 votes to 232, but those challenges are not expected to be successful.
In addition to winning the Electoral College, Biden also defeated Trump by a resounding 7 million ballots in the popular vote totals across the U.S.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $86,000 in one-time donations and to add 1260 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy