Donald Trump braces for "anti-far-right" protests in Scotland as police ready a "significant operation".
The US President is expected to touch down in the UK for a four-day trip, visiting his golf resorts at Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast and Menie in Aberdeenshire.
The White House has described the visit as a "private" trip and confirmed he will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney.
Trump is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September, where he will become the first US President to attend two state visits while in office.
The 47th President is expected to be faced with a wave of resistance over what liberal supporters have described as "extreme policies" on immigration, the economy and climate change.
The assistant chief constable Emma Bond, Police Scotland’s gold command for the operation, insisted that the authorities do not expect the protests to bring disorder or disruption.
However, the Scottish Police Federation warned that authorities' resources would be stretched, leading to longer response times around the rest of the region.
Protestors from the Stop Trump Coalition have planned protests in Aberdeen city centre and outside the US consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday at midday.
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|Donald Trump braces for 'anti-far-right' protests in Scotland as police ready 'significant operation'
Protests are also expected around Turnberry and Menie, where Trump is expected to open a new 18-hole golf course named in honour of his mother.
Mary Anne MacLeod Trump was born on the Isle of Lewis, which led the President to develop a deep affection for the country.
Starmer will travel to Scotland on Monday morning or late on Sunday.
He is expected to attend the women’s Euro final in Switzerland against Spain alongside the Prince of Wales on Sunday afternoon.
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|Anti-Trump protests have taken place across the UK since he took back control of the White House last Autumn
Connor Dylan, the organiser of the anti-Trump protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, said: "The vast majority of people in Scotland were already opposed to everything Trump stood for when he first visited as president.
"As we’ve learned more and more about him and the way he governs, that attitude has only hardened.
"His politics – and those of the people around him – have only become more extreme since then, with once fringe ideas like mass deportations now part of mainstream American politics and being effectively exported to the UK and other European countries by far-right allies."
A second organiser, Alena Ivanova, said: “There’s a widespread anger and determination to come out from people across Scotland and calling on our elected leaders not to give Trump the acknowledgement and welcome he wants.”
Police Scotland has pledged a “positive and engaged approach” to lawful protests.
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|Demonstrators rallied against US President Donald Trump and his recent policies in Trafalgar Square on April 5, 2025
Chief Superintendent Rob Hay said the visit would require a "significant operation across the country over many days" which would “undoubtedly stretch all our resources from local policing divisions to specialist and support functions such as contact, command and control”.
Trump is not expected to have an audience with the King, despite his deep admiration for the Royal Family, GB News understands.
Buckingham Palace and the White House have agreed that it is best to keep an in-person meeting for the full State Visit in September.
Today's visit will be the first time Trump has returned to the UK since his 2019 State Visit.