Trump hosts Starmer and Swinney for dinner at Aberdeenshire golf course

Donald Trump is hosting Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney for dinner at his Aberdeenshire golf course during his four-day trip to Scotland.

Scottish First Minister Mr Swinney plans to make the case for tariff relief on whisky and salmon to the US president directly.

Sir Keir, meanwhile, travelled on Marine One with Mr Trump to Menie, Aberdeenshire, where he is due to open a new course on Tuesday.

Demonstrators gathered in the nearby village of Balmedie to protest against Mr Trump’s visit.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said Mr Swinney would “make the case for tariff exemptions for Scotland’s world-class whisky and salmon sector directly with the president”.

Asked earlier about tariffs on whisky, Mr Trump had said: “We’ll talk about that, I didn’t know whisky was a problem. I’m not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.”

Sir Keir arrived with Mr Trump on the president’s helicopter on Monday evening following talks at his other golf course in Turnberry, South Ayrshire.

They were greeted by a pipe band from Robert Gordon College, who played Scotland The Brave and were saluted by Mr Trump.

Mr Trump had earlier spoken of his “great love” for Scotland and said he wanted to see the nation “thrive”.

Sir Keir and the US president agreed in an earlier meeting that “urgent action” is needed in Gaza and discussed Ukraine, trade and Mr Trump’s upcoming state visit.

Sir Keir shared plans to secure peace in the Middle East that he has been preparing with France and Germany, Downing Street said.

It came after they took questions for more than an hour at Turnberry.

The US president praised Sir Keir Starmer as a “tax cutter” who did a “great thing with the economy”, and hailed both Sir Keir and Nigel Farage as “great men”.

“I happen to like both men. I like this man (Sir Keir) a lot, and I like Nigel.

“And, you know, I don’t know the politics over here. I don’t know where they stand. I would say one is slightly liberal – not that liberal, slightly – and the other one is slightly conservative, but they’re both good men.”

He added: “(Sir Keir) did a great thing with the economy, because a lot of money is going to come in because of the deal that was made. But I think that immigration is now bigger than ever before,” he said.

The president had earlier said he thinks Sir Keir, who has been in office for more than a year, will be “a tax cutter”.

Mr Trump was asked about trade talks under way to give the UK relief from his tariff regime for goods entering the US from other nations.

He said he had “a very big plan on pharmaceuticals” when asked if a planned import levy on medicines would affect the UK.

“We want to bring a lot of the pharmaceuticals back to America, where they should be,” he said.

He later added: “You also have a good pharmaceutical business – we’ll be dealing with you on pharmaceuticals also – and we certainly feel a lot better with your country working on pharmaceuticals for America than some of the other countries that were … with the relationship we have, you would not use that as a cudgel. You wouldn’t be using it as a block.”

During the same press conference, Mr Trump described the Labour London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan as a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.

The Prime Minister intervened to say: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”

The question session inside the president’s Turnberry resort came after he suggested that the UK is “doing a fantastic thing” in trying to reduce immigration by small boat crossings.

Mr Trump said he knows “nothing about the boats” when asked about the issue but said “my hats are off to you” if the UK is trying to reduce immigration.

Sir Keir and his wife Lady Starmer were greeted by the president and a chorus of bagpipes as they arrived in South Ayrshire on Monday.

When Mr Trump was asked about how he would deal with small boats, Sir Keir explained that it refers to people who are crossing the Channel.

Mr Trump told reporters: “If you’re stopping immigration and stopping the wrong people … my hats are off to you. You’re doing, not a good thing, you’re doing a fantastic thing.

“So, I know nothing about the boats, but if the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are, because, you know, other countries don’t send their best, they send people that they don’t want, and they’re not stupid people, and they send the people that they don’t want.”

Turning to the Prime Minister, Mr Trump added: “And I’ve heard that you’ve taken a much stronger stance on this.”

The latest data from the Home Office indicates that 122 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Saturday.

Around a hundred protesters gathered earlier at the Balmedie demonstration, with a few remaining as the US president arrived at his golf course.

Published: 28/07/2025 by Radio NewsHub