SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Trump is spending the weekend in the home country of his late mother, Scotland. He is playing golf, promoting golf resorts that he owns there and meeting with British and European leaders. But questions about Gaza, trade and his dead former friend, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have followed him to Scotland, and there are lots of protesters. NPR's Lauren Frayer is at a demonstration in Edinburgh, joins us from there. Lauren, thanks for being with us.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Thanks for having me, Scott.
SIMON: What kind of welcome is the president receiving in Scotland?
FRAYER: Well, I'm outside the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh, where several hundred people gathered today. There are Scottish bagpipers. One of them is holding a sign that says, at least this bag of hot air serves a purpose. There are Palestinian flags over the crowd. I also see a sign that says, Scotland is already great - a reference to, you know, making anything great again. Festival people - protest organizers here call this a festival of resistance. Here's protester Niamh Cunvin-Smith (ph).
NIAMH CUNVIN-SMITH: Why on Earth is this convicted felon allowed to come into our country and play golf when the people do not like him?
FRAYER: A recent poll found that more than 70% of people in Scotland have an unfavorable view of Trump. That's higher than across the entire United Kingdom, of which Scotland is part. People here say they're motivated by Trump's climate policy. In fact, some climate protesters actually abseiled, belayed themselves on ropes down off a bridge here last night. Others say they're protesting U.S. policy in the Middle East. Many Scots are also angry at the cost to taxpayers of Trump's visit here, and there are even a few Jeffrey Epstein posters in the mix here.
SIMON: A topic that the president might have hoped to leave on this side of the Atlantic, I should think.
FRAYER: Probably, but it's one of the things that the traveling press asked him about moments after Air Force One touched down here last night. Trump denied ever being briefed that his name might be in the Epstein files. He said he has the power to pardon Epstein's ex, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison, but that he hasn't thought about doing that. And he said, if you're going to talk about Epstein...
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump.
FRAYER: So Trump was dodging questions about Epstein here, but it's not just the media talking about this. Scottish protesters stealthily put up a sign outside of one of Trump's golf resorts here this week that says, quote, "twinned with Epstein Island."
SIMON: The president does have deep family ties to Scotland. As we mentioned, his late mother was born and raised there. Do Scots like to consider him a native son?
FRAYER: Yeah, I mean, his mother was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides islands, a place that Trump once, on a private visit, called serious Scotland. Her first language was actually Gaelic. Trump has long owned golf resorts here. So Scots have been well-acquainted with him for a long time, even before he became president. Trump says he loves Scotland, but he's also been critical of its environment policy, for example. He's called for the country to scrap what he calls windmills - renewable energy wind turbines. He considers them an eyesore. He's called on Scotland to double down on energy from fossil fuels instead. Here's an Edinburgh bartender I spoke with called Cam Page (ph).
CAM PAGE: I mean, the first thing I saw him going on about was the windmills and all that. It's - I think it's a bit weird that the first thing he does when he comes here is just moan and complain.
FRAYER: He kind of just wants Trump to butt out of his country's energy policy.
SIMON: This is a private presidential trip, but there is some business and politics mixed with it. He's meeting with British and European leaders. What's on the president's agenda?
FRAYER: Yeah, so Trump will be meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. You'll recall they announced a limited trade deal back in May. Starmer may press Trump for a further reduction of tariffs on British steel. The U.S. president is also meeting with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. The U.S. and the EU are still negotiating their trade deal. Trump said the chances of that working out before an August 1 deadline for more tariffs is, quote, about "50/50." As you said, this is a private trip by President Trump. He's actually coming back to the U.K. in a couple months, in September, for a state visit with King Charles. That'll be at Windsor Castle, near London. That trip will be full of pomp and pageantry. You might recall one of Trump's prior visits entailed protesters floating a giant orange Trump baby blimp over London. We'll be watching for anything like that here and also covering his trip to Windsor in September, as well.
SIMON: NPR's Lauren Frayer in Edinburgh. Thanks so much.
FRAYER: Thanks, Scott.
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