Despite a record number of Britons signing a petition to avoid having The Queen meet with Donald Trump while on his State Visit, it seems all is a go.
However, the mass amounts of protests to his visit have raised substantial problems and to help minimise those, it is likely that Queen Elizabeth will host the President at her private estate in Scotland.
Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland, told LBC Radio that he believes Balmoral would be a much more suitable venue as it would be more difficult for protesters to reach.
Mr Salmond announced that he was one of the over a million people who signed the petition to downgrade Trump’s visit from State Visit, but would not look to ban him from visiting Scotland, saying:“You have to respect the office, but you don’t have to accord somebody the full panoply of a state visit when the greatest presidents on earth and in history had to wait two or three years for it.
“I think him going to Scotland is quite likely, and I’ll tell you why.
“If you come to London in current circumstances or with another embarrassment there will be hundreds of thousands certainly, maybe more, people in the streets.
“I think they will see Balmoral as a much, much safer option because even in Scotland, even from my constituency which is adjacent to Balmoral in the north east of Scotland, it takes me a good two hours to get there from my house.
“So I reckon they think Balmoral is a much better option to try and minimise the protesters, but believe me if it was Balmoral, if it’s London, if it’s Timbuktu, he’ll be met by very substantial protests.”
By having the visit at Balmoral, it would mean that The Queen would have to change her usual plans and head up to Scotland early. It has been said that Trump wanted to visit Balmoral anyway for a round of golf on the private course to create his own version the famous images of The Queen and President Reagan horseback riding at Windsor Castle in 1982.
Sources close to Trump have said that the President wants the visit to have all the “pomp and ceremony” without any hitches. One of those being, meeting with Prince Charles who always has tea with the incoming Head of State at Clarence House. Trump and his team are worried about the awkward situation he might be put in should Prince Charles bring up climate change, a cause he is very passionate about and Trump believes is made up.
I still can’t believe and it is a shame the reaction of the england people…You better know and verify the results of the election,that democrats want to hide…There are 3,141 counties in USA. Trump won 3,084 and Clinton 57. If that is not winning,what it is? All they are claiming than in California she won because that is a big state and many illegals voted.There are the “popular vote” they are claiming.ABSURD!!! ONLY IN CALIFORNIA!!!where that majority are MEXICANS. Because of that you are losing our friendship…SORRY!!! Never thought you were so naive…
ALTERNATE FACTS!!!! I’m sure if people in Scotland know about the Dumps visit you will see a massive protest…….this president is a crazy, fascist dictator who only cares about himself and his money. London will soon be staging one of the largest protests it has ever had…just like we had here in the US. Make America Great Again….. IMPEACH!!
You need some serious help Roberta, better start taking your medications again!!
YES YOU ARE SO RIGHT ROBERTA SCHULER!
DUMP TRUMP! AS THE MATTER OF FACTS. I HOPE THAT THE EVIL TRUMP KNOWS THAT HE IS NOT WELCOME IN ENGLAND AND OTHER WORLD PARTS…. MAYBE RUSIA MIGHT MAKE HIM FEEL LIKE A KING THERE. BUT! I HOPE HE WILL CANCEL COMING OVER, TO SAVE HIS DIGNITY IF HE HAS ONE?
So you call us naive yet seem not to understand the difference between England and Scotland, and then the overarching role of Great Britain, notwithstanding the whole issue of the the United Kingdom! It’s not just those in England who are reacting in this way, but across the UK and GB. Here in Scotland, where it has been suggested that his visit take place, near Aberdeen, people are very well used to him riding roughshod over anyone who tries to get in his way. His belligerence toward those who opposed his resort on the coast of Aberdeenshire has not been forgotten; his antics to drive people from their own homes because, in his option, those homes blighted the vista of his golf course; his outrageous contention of the choice of our local and national government’s policy of off-shore wind farming, (again because it, in his opinion, blighted the views from his golf course); his failure to pay many small businesses who worked on his estates here; his treatment of locals who worked for him; his failure to deliver what was promised, the resort he promised is nothing more than a half used golf course for which he destroyed an area designated as one of outstanding beauty. Those are ACTUAL facts, there is nothing alternate about them. Let him come to the North East of Scotland, people here have good memories and very good reason to protest at him, real, actual reason.
Yvette arostegui Don’t be fooled by a noisy minority. The majority of Brits are in favour of Trump’s visit and are delighted to see a patriot putting his country first (unlike the muslim before him) That same majority would love to have a leader with his courage who is brave enough to make controversial decisions and who would rescue Britain from the cesspit it has become. However, the feeling in Scotland, I understand, may be a little different as he has ‘history’ there!
I can’t believe you and your trumped up alternate facts bullshit
Google is your friend, Yvette. Search your 57 county “fact” and it is shown to be false in the results. It’s a very easy search; one that I think even you can do.
Fifth grade English Composition could have been Yvette’s friend too, if she had paid attention.
Yes, i noticed her non facility with the language. I was going to recommend Strunk and White’s Elements of Style but perhaps fifth grade composition would be more suitable.
Woman, you are a traitor to your gender and your species. The tangerine toddler LOST by almost THREE MILLION votes. The only reason he’s in the White House is because of a 200+ year old law that was written to benefit slave owners, and the active collusion of the GOP with Russia. If he was a legitimate President, he wouldn’t need to resort to Gestapo tactics and outright lies to promote his agenda. The fact that you appear to actually believe the bullshit he puts out shows your lack of active brain cells. Pull your head from your white, privileged ass and maybe you’ll learn some truth.
He has treated the people of Scotland as rudely as he treats anyone who is not in his circle of rich white criminals. He uses EVERYONE, you included, you twit.
Her Majesty and the senior Royals always behave as civilized human beings should in matters of State. Even if Prince Charles were to bring up climate change, it would be an attempt at a calm and reasonable discussion. One might hope that the Trump ego could learn something about dignity and property behavior while visiting with the Royal Family, but of course one also hopes to win the lottery.
SEND CHARLES AND CAMILLA TO GREAT AND MEET INSTEAD… WHY NOT?
I simply wish to clarify a couple of things: While I realize the polarizing nature of Trump’s personality and wealth, though why these elements should enrage a nation that elected him fair and square to try and get the US out of the financial mess it’s in (20 trillion dollars of national debt due to years and years of reckless spending), I do not know. He is not a diplomat nor is he a politician. Neither is he a maniac with his finger on the atomic buttons. He wants our country to obey its laws, get control of our outrageously excessive illegal immigration, follow the laws pertaining to gun control and put the brakes on violence in our cities. No one else stood up and pledged to do these things which threaten the existence of our very nation. In addition, Mr. Trump does NOT deny global climate change! Rather, he believes it is part and parcel of the climate variations that have occurred throughout the millennia. Yes, humanity and the huge herds of bovine creatures give out more polluting methane than all the internal combustion engines, fossil fuel emissions and corporate activity put together. The largest, most populated nations in the world are cranking out more pollutants and garbage than imaginable with no restraints whatsoever. We are constantly and earnestly trying to reduce our own contributions to these horrible problems, but our president has indicated that we cannot commit national suicide to make efforts that are negated every day across the globe. Why, then, are we seeing such condemnation and execration from even our closest ally? Hold your horses a bit and see what happens before you wish us ill and write us off.
He wasn’t elected fair and square. Russia infiltrated our electoral process and with the help of the partisan FBI director we have a liar, draft dodger, adulterer, business cheat, sexual deviant, and woman assaulter as President. He is illegitimate.
As for the debt. Clinton handed Bush a surplus. It was a Repub president who squandered the surplus and more on what has been called the biggest foreign policy mistake ever. Obama worked hard to get the debt down. but, the debt only matters when a Dem is in the WH. Reagan ran up the debt and Cheney famously said that the debt doesn’t matter.
I just wasted five minutes of my life because i realize that you will never acknowledge the mistakes of the right. And certainly you will never acknowledge that the virtuous, oh so Xtian, right elected a sleaze.
IT SHOWS YOU VERY CLEARLY THAT “WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT COUNT”
NO MATTER WHAT! SO WTF! IT ALL SUCKS.
People are just not used to having a person in the white house living up to all his promises. I was undecided at first but now I watch how he works and I love this man. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!