A Scotsman who helped to see off Donald Trump in a long-running land battle has branded the US president’s trip to the country a ‘PR stunt’ aimed at promoting his golf courses.
David Milne and others in Aberdeenshire were embroiled in the David v Goliath struggle with Trump over access and land rights as one of the venues was built on the Menie Estate.
The president is due to arrive in Scotland tonight for a five-day visit amid tight security, with protests expected.
He plans to visit a new golf course close to Milne’s home and visit his other green, 200 miles south at Turnberry on the Ayrshire Coast.
The visit is ‘an annoyance with no real value’ in Mr Milne’s view.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
‘I would describe his trip as a rather cynical circus, a PR stunt more than anything else,’ he said. ‘It’s his personal situation, all he’s ever interested in is himself, and how things affect him.
‘He’s opening a second golf course alongside one that’s never busy.
‘They have got a competition starting next week, so it’s all going to get free publicity, free advertising because the president is here, he invites along Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney and the British government has to pay for the security for his visit.
‘It’s a cynical PR stunt from day one.’
Mr Milne, 61, and his fellow campaigners fought the tycoon after he tried to purchase their homes to develop his 1,400-acre Trump International Golf Links, Scotland resort in the village of Balmedie.
They formed a ‘popular movement’ called ‘Tripping up Trump’ to protect people’s homes and the environment from the work.
At one point, the Scotsman flew the Mexican flag in reference to Trump’s intention to build a wall between the country and the US.
In 2021, the billionaire was reported to have described the Milnes’ home of more than three decades in a former coastguard station as a ‘visual slum.’ He also spoke of issuing compulsory purchase orders to buy land within or on the resort’s boundaries.
The saga died down in 2009 after the locals refused to sell.
Mr Milne told Metro: ‘Initially the Trump organisation was a complete and utter pain when they planted trees around us, built earth banks around us, built fences in the wrong place and billed me for it and tried to compulsorily purchase my property.
‘It doesn’t endear you to people.
‘The last few years I think they’ve realised they were onto a loser and they’ve left us alone, which is obviously a better situation for us.’
The health and safety consultant believes Trump should focus his attentions on some of the world’s troublespots where the US has far more pressing concerns.
‘He is currently supposed to be the US President,’ he said.
‘He is doing nothing to control the Israelis in Gaza, he’s doing nothing to support the Ukrainians, and he’s made no mention of the Israeli attacks on Syria or on other states, and their interfering with Iran. There are a lot of things he could be doing other than playing around with golf.’
The Trump opponent also highlighted the disruption in preparation for Air Force One landing at Prestwick Airport in western Scotland this evening for the president’s private visit to the golf courses.
‘It’s going to be a pain in the proverbials,’ he said.
‘It’s causing everyone a lot of hassle. The main road’s going to be closed, the barricades were up already this morning.
‘It’s just a nuisance, an annoyance without any real value.
‘Some of our neighbours have gone away to avoid it all.’
Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles. The new golf course, due to open on August 13, is named after Mary Anne, who emigrated to the US in 1930.
‘We know where his priorities lie and they’re not with Scotland,’ Mr Milne said of the connection. ‘We’re just a convenient little symbol that he can tack on to the end of his marketing stuff.’
The Mexican flag is gone for good but blue and white will be on display outside the Milnes’ home this weekend.
‘The only flag I’ll be flying this weekend is the Saltire,’ Mr Milne said.
‘That is to show this is still Scotland and the Scottish people, generally speaking, don’t like Trump.’
The president’s representatives have said in the past that the golf estate development was hampered by ‘red tape’, despite potentially generating thousands of jobs for the local economy.
In a statement to the BBC, the Trump Organization has said that it has invested ‘hundreds of millions of pounds into the Scottish economy’ and that both the Menie and Turnberry courses are ‘driving thousands of international visitors into the country each year’.
The company added: ‘There are very few, if any, investors in the sport that have done more for Scottish golf in the past decade than Trump.
‘In spite of the many global economic challenges, where other investors walked away, and despite spiteful opposition, the Trump Organization has remained steadfast in its commitment and delivered on its promise to build one of the greatest modern links golf courses of all time in Aberdeen.’
Metro has approached the Trump Organization for further comment.
Have you got a story you wish to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
MORE: Why ‘paranoid’ Donald Trump ‘will be even more dangerous’ in presidency 2.0
MORE: Scottish golf club owner’s neighbour lowers Mexican flag after four-year protest
MORE: Scathing verdict on Trump from corner of Scotland he couldn’t conquer
