Scottish newspaper calls on readers to give Trump ‘chilly’ reception

The Scotsman called on its readers to give former President Trump a “chilly” reception on Tuesday, when he arrived in Scotland to break ground on a new golf course.

“Clearly, in normal circumstances, the arrival of a former American leader would have been cause for much celebration,” The Scotsman said in a column following Trump’s arrival at Aberdeen International Airport on Monday.

“However, given Trump’s attempts to overturn the presidential election result and his supporters storming of the U.S. Capitol in a shocking attack on democracy, one wonders just who did arrange for the red carpet and two pipers that greeted him on arrival,” it added. 

The Scottish newspaper also noted the “array of legal troubles” plaguing the former president, including the criminal charges he faces from the Manhattan district attorney for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal a 2016 hush money payment and the civil trial over author E. Jean Carroll’s rape accusations.

“Those offering too wholehearted a welcome to this individual may come to regret it — even more than they currently should,” The Scotsman added in Tuesday’s column.

As Trump traveled to Scotland to break ground on a golf course named for his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in the Isle of Lewis, Carroll took the stand for a third day in the trial in Manhattan.

The former columnist for Elle magazine has accused the former president of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Trump maintains a wide lead over his Republican challengers in the 2024 presidential primary, potentially putting him on track for a rematch with President Biden.

The former president will participate in a CNN presidential town hall next week in New Hampshire.