Golf, Trade, and Influence: Trump's Scotland Trip Was Business as Usual

President Trump traveled to Scotland in late July 2025 for a trip officially billed as a working visit combining trade talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and visits to his family's Turnberry and Aberdeen golf properties, including the opening of a new course named after his mother. During the visit Trump and Starmer discussed refinements to the U.S.-UK trade deal reached earlier that year.

The trip matters because of a long-running effort, reported since 2020, in which Trump has pushed British officials to bring the Open Championship (British Open) back to his Turnberry course, with UK media reporting renewed pressure on the British government around this trip. Combining trade negotiations with personal lobbying for a golf tournament at a Trump-owned property raises conflict-of-interest concerns that ethics experts have raised throughout his time in office.

Supporters argue Trump's business success enhances the U.S. brand abroad. Critics say blending official diplomacy with personal commercial promotion undermines the separation between governing and private enrichment.