President Donald Trump’s arrival in Scotland was met with vocal protests on Saturday — including from one of his own distant relatives.
Janet MacLeod-Trotter, who shares ancestry with Trump through his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, joined demonstrators outside the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh holding a bold sign that read: “WE MACLEODS DISOWN TRUMP.”
Trump’s mother emigrated from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland to New York in 1930 at the age of 18, working as a domestic servant before marrying Fred Trump. Now, nearly a century later, members of her extended clan are publicly denouncing her son.
“A lot of MacLeods are very upset with the way he’s conducting all sorts of international and national issues,” MacLeod-Trotter told NPR. “He’s misusing his heritage.”
While some supporters gathered to welcome the president back to his mother’s homeland, opposition demonstrators far outnumbered them. Protesters waved Palestinian flags, held signs mocking Trump, and displayed photos of Jeffrey Epstein. Recent polling shows 71% of Scots view Trump unfavorably — a figure significantly higher than his already-low approval rating across the U.K.
MacLeod-Trotter took particular aim at Trump’s commercial ventures, especially his latest golf course project in Aberdeenshire, which he plans to dedicate to his mother.
“He doesn’t do anything to help the people of Lewis, where his mother came from,” she said. “He just comes over to buy up golf courses and line his own pockets.”
Although Trump’s visit includes a handful of private diplomatic meetings, it is primarily centered around golfing and business. He’s expected to return to the U.K. in September for a formal state visit with King Charles III.
