Donald Trump was drowned out by bagpipes as he spoke to media alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer
Donald Trump drowned out by bagpipes while speaking in Scotland
Donald Trump was drowned out by bagpipes in Scotland today.
The US president could not be heard clearly as he began addressing the media after meeting with Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer. The PM and his spouse were greeted with bagpipes as they arrived at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in advance of talks.
The music continued playing as Trump turned to address the media. He spoke to praise Sir Keir over a trade deal with the US.
Asked about tariffs on whisky, he could be heard saying: “We’ll talk about that, I didn’t know whisky was a problem. I’m not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.” And he said of the special relationship: “Our relationship is unparalleled.”
The music later stopped. Trump said the UK is “doing a fantastic thing” when asked how he would respond to small boats crossing the Channel.
Speaking from Turnberry, the US President said: “If you’re stopping immigration and stopping the wrong people, … my hats are off to you. You’re doing, not a good thing, you’re doing a fantastic thing.
“So I know nothing about the boats, but if the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are, because, you know, other countries don’t send their best they send people that they don’t want, and they’re not stupid people, and they send the people that they don’t want.”
Turning to the Prime Minister, Trump added: “And I’ve heard that you’ve taken a much stronger stance on this.”
Sir Keir said he was “very pleased” to have signed an agreement to return people. Mr Trump told reporters: “My mother was born in Scotland, and it’s an incredible place, a beautiful place.
“And if that be the case, I congratulate you. […] Because, you know Europe is going to is a much different place than it was just five years ago, 10 years ago.
“They’ve got to get their act together. If they don’t, you’re not going to have Europe anymore, as you know it, and you can’t do that. This is a magnificent part of the world, and you cannot ruin it.
“You cannot let people come in here illegally. And what happens is, there’ll be murderers, there’ll be drug dealers, there’ll be all sorts of things that other countries don’t want, and they send them to you, and they send them to us, and you’ve got to stop them.”
Trump also spoke on Ukraine and suggested he would reduce the 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. He also said he was “very disappointed” with Vladimir Putin.
He said: “We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever.
“You have bodies lying all over the street, and I say that’s not the way to do it. So we’ll see what happens with that.”
He added: “We’re going to have to look and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number, because I think I already know the answer, what’s going to happen.”