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.
The US president earlier used his trip to repeat his call for the Open championship to return to Turnberry, declaring it “the best resort in the world”.
Asked about the Open at Monday’s joint press conference, Starmer said “the decision on the Open is not a decision for me” but was swift to praise Turnberry as “absolutely magnificent, both inside and out”.
Starmer’s comments came after the Guardian revealed that senior Whitehall officials had asked golf bosses whether they could host the 2028 Open at Turnberry after Trump’s repeated requests.
US ethics experts later said doing so could break the US constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
Swinney has refused to confirm the cost of policing Trump’s visit, saying he remains in discussion with the UK government, but many critics have questioned why – as one Aberdeenshire protester put it on Monday – “our taxes are paying for his holiday”.
Leading a hundred-strong protest at Trump’s imminent arrival at his Menie resort in the nearby village of Balmedie, Alena Ivanova of the Stop Trump Coalition Scotland said: “It was very clear from the beginning that this trip was about Trump benefiting himself.”
She also urged people to “consider the reality” of Trump’s business interests in Aberdeenshire.
The Menie resort was built after a bitter and protracted dispute with local people and environmentalists, who fought to save the rare sand dunes and their own dwellings which Trump declared an eyesore. When he eventually won planning permission he promised a £1bn coastal resort including expansive courses, luxury housing and high-rise timeshare flats – promises that many locals point out have yet to be fulfilled.
Ivanova said: “Trump was supposed to build a £1bn development with accommodation for local people. There were supposed to be a thousand jobs, so far there have barely been a hundred.
“The Scottish government was hoodwinked into agreeing proposals that were previously turned down by the local council and the promises have not materialised.”