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By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with [2]
President Donald Trump’s long weekend trip to Scotland wasn’t to meet King Charles III; that meeting has been set for mid-September.
He met the President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, not to negotiate trade terms but to announce [3] the conclusion of what Trump called “probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity trade or beyond trade;” also, “the biggest deal. People don’t realize. This is bigger than any other deal. We have, uh, great countries, great countries. Uh, I’m familiar with many of ’em, so are you. And, uh, this is really the biggest deal. This is the, I guess we’re the biggest, uh, out there [4].”
He also met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The two hours he spent with each of them was less than the games of golf he played with his son Eric Trump, and with Warren Stephens, the US Ambassador to the UK since May and another of the asset speculators who have financed Trump’s re-election campaign.
Trump’s purpose in Scotland was to advertise the game of golf on the two resort courses he owns in Scotland — Turnberry in Ayrshire in the southwest, and in Aberdeen in the northeast. “The golf was, uh, the golf was beautiful,” Trump told [4] the press beside von der Leyen. “It’s, uh, golf can never be bad, even if you play badly, it’s, uh, it’s still good. If you had a bad day on the golf course, it’s okay. Uh, it’s better than other days”.
That’s Trump’s game. But Trump’s golf business is in financial trouble within the Trump group of companies in the US; and in the financial accounts it is required to report to the UK Companies House [5].
Advertising the value of the assets, as Trump’s game-playing visit has been planned to display, also exposes the financial vulnerability and invites rescue at a takeover premium. If the Trump plan is to pressure the British and Scots authorities into designating Turnberry for the British Open Championship [6]; or if it is an advertisement to sell to an investor who has needs of his own from the US Government, then the scheme may amount to an offence under 18 U.S. Code § 201 [7]: “Whoever…being a public official or person selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for: (A) being influenced in the performance of any official act.”
That’s bribery.
On the latest audited financial data, reported this month in the widely read London magazine Private Eye [8], the two Trump golf courses and associated hotels are earning significantly less revenue than they cost to operate, and are loss-making. The Turnberry complex, owned by Golf Recreation Scotland Limited has a single director, Eric Trump [9], and reports [10] its financials at UK Companies House. It owes other Trump companies £124 million, has accumulated net losses of almost £78 million; pays no UK tax; and its liabilities far exceed the £55 million book value Trump claims or the £42 million he paid to purchase the asset in 2014.
On May 29, this year, the company, identifying the President as exercising significant control through the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, was facing a strike-off at the register. This was then solved the following day [10].
The golf course and hotel in Aberdeenshire are owned by another UK Companies House- registered entity called Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited [11]. Its controversial history since Trump purchased it in 2006 can be followed here [12]. The two directors are Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr.
[13]According to the last financial report in the files of Companies House, the Aberdeen complex was loss-making for 2023; accumulated losses came to almost £19 million; it owed its Trump group creditors £53 million while its asset value was booked at £37 million.
According to the White House calendar, most of Trump’s time over the weekend was spent at Turnberry. He arrived at Aberdeen on Monday afternoon.
[14]Source: https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/calendar/ [15]
During this time Trump had nothing to say on President Vladimir Putin or Russia. He did mention [4] the Ukraine war once. “And, uh, we’re gonna be sending now, uh, military equipment and other equipment to NATO and they’ll be doing what they want. But I guess as for the most part, working with, uh, Ukraine.”
Instead, Trump twice mentioned his location at Turnberry Golf Club, showing it off. “It’s an honour to have you,” he told von der Leyen on Sunday, “at the new ballroom at Turnberry… today I’m playing the best course I think in the world, Turnberry, even though I own it, it’s probably the best course in the world, right?”
He then tweeted an endorsement by the international golf champion, Gary Player. As the video shows Trump hitting the golf ball, the soundtrack repeats “Good shot”.
[16]Source: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114921063256769586 [17]
In the press filming [18] of Trump making his shots, the golf ball is visible only until it is struck. In this lengthy film of one of Trump’s Turnberry rounds, the ball is not visible after Trump putts it towards the hole. The flag pole remains in place; the ball disappears and is not retrieved.
Just before one of his aides closed the press conference with von der Leyen on Sunday, Trump was asked a planted question [4]: “You’ll be visiting your Irish golf course anytime soon, Doonbeg? “Trump: I will. I love Doonbeg. I, I’ll go, so not in this trip, but I’ll go soon. Okay. Thank you very much.”