- Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has ended rumors that President Donald Trump would visit his Turnberry golf course during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
- Sturgeon said the country’s national blockade, which includes a ban on non-essential travel, applies to Trump.
- A Scottish newspaper reported on Sunday that an American military aircraft sometimes used by Trump was scheduled to arrive at an airport near Trump’s Turnberry golf resort.
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Rumors that President Donald Trump would take refuge at his Scottish golf resort during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20 were dismissed by the Scottish leader on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the President of the United States would not be allowed to visit the country, where he owns a golf resort since 2014, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions that prohibit non-essential travel. The Sturgeon implemented a national blockade on Monday, just before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a national blockade on England when coronavirus cases increased.
“We are not allowing people to enter Scotland, and that would apply to him as well as to anyone else,” Sturgeon told Scottish reporters on Tuesday. “And going in to play golf is not what I consider an essential purpose.”
Read More: Secret service experts are speculating in group chats about how Trump could be removed from the White House if he doesn’t move on the day of his inauguration.
The Sunday Post reported for the first time that Trump may be planning to escape the United States later this month. A military aircraft the president occasionally uses is scheduled to arrive at Glasgow Prestwick airport, near Trump’s resort, on January 19, the day before Biden’s inauguration, the Scottish newspaper said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump “had no plans to travel to Scotland” after the White House declined to comment on the Sunday Post report. Trump planned to visit Turnberry after the 2016 election because he assumed he would lose the race to Hillary Clinton, The New York Times reported, citing former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
The president, who refused to admit electoral defeat, did not say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration or reveal where he would go when he was no longer president. NBC News reported that Trump was considering announcing a 2024 presidential offer on the day of his inauguration, while other media reported that Trump will hold a campaign rally when Biden takes office.