Scotland’s first minister criticised over talks to provide public funding for US president’s resort as it hosts Nexo championship
Scotland’s first minister criticised over talks to provide public funding for US president’s resort as it hosts Nexo championship
Donald Trump has delivered a rambling exposition on his “opulent and beautiful” golf resort at Turnberry as he continued to mix granular business interests and international diplomacy on his five-day trip to Scotland.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, looked on in apparent discomfort during Monday’s joint press conference as Trump answered a question initially pitched about the expense of refurbishing the Federal Reserve’s historic building with a lengthy detour about the maintenance on his luxury golfresort.
Praising the “great craftsmen” of Ayrshire on Scotland’s west coast, he described spending “probably $100m [£74m]” on the hotel: “We did a very great job. You see how beautiful it is?
“We had ceilings that were in bad shape. They were falling down. It was very old. It wasn’t properly maintained. Now it’s brand new and beautiful, and we saved everything. If you look outside, it’s equally opulent and beautiful.”
With Trump’s use of this visit to further his business interests already in the spotlight, Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, faced significant criticism after announcing that his government was in talks to provide £180,000 of public funding for the Aberdeenshire resort as it hosts the 2025 Nexo championship on the DP World Tour next month.
