In Donald Trump’s second term, the presidency isn’t just entangled with private interests. Evidently, it’s now being used to advance them. Trump’s private business interests shadow his official duties more closely than ever, embedded in trade negotiations, international meetings and presidential travel. Trump’s presidency increasingly appears to function as an extension of the Trump business brand. His recent trip to Scotland made that dynamic harder than ever to ignore. What was for weeks described by the media as a “private” trip for the ribbon-cutting of a new course at the Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire, later evolved to be framed by the White House as a “working visit” and squeezed meetings with world leaders between golf sessions and promotional efforts — primarily at Trump’s own properties, of course. This means American taxpayers essentially underwrote a promotional visit to a Trump-branded property at estimates — based on a GAO report from 2017 on Trump personal visits to Florida — will cost U.S. taxpayers around $10 million in taxpayer dollars in expenses. But for Trump, the returns could be far greater.Trump has consistently reported more income from businesses in Scotland than with any other foreign country, according to an analysis of disclosures on file with the Office of Government Ethics. He has personally made over $206 million in income from his Scottish businesses since first entering the White House in 2017, accounting for roughly half of his $412 million haul from foreign businesses during that time.The meetings that Trump has had in Scotland blur the distinction even further. Trump’s meetings — primarily at Trump-branded venues — include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Scottish First Minister John Swinney and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. But that’s only the beginning. There has been widespread speculation in UK media that the president and White House officials are pressuring Starmer to get the Open Championship to return to Trump’s Turnberry golf course. UK officials met with the R&A, the tournament’s governing body, about returning the Open to Trump Turnberry in April after reports claiming that Starmer instructed them to do so. The R&A’s new chief executive said that he had a “good dialogue” with Eric Trump, who formally leads the Trump Organization alongside brother Donald Trump Jr., in recent months and confirmed that the governing body started investigating the “feasability” of whether Turnberry could host The Open, but has reiterated multiple times that it would not be swayed by UK government requests. He also said the size of the event — with more than 250,000 people involved — would make Turnberry a “challenging” venue, which is why the sport has no immediate plans to use the course. The golf diplomacy may look symbolic, but it isn’t inconsequential. Hosting the tournament would mean prestige — and cold, hard cash — for a Trump property. The convergence of diplomacy and self-interest would have once triggered alarm across the political spectrum but now barely registers in the never-ending news cycle. But the risks remain. Formally led by Trump’s eldest sons, the Trump Organization has announced a flurry of international projects, often in close proximity to his presidential travel. That includes deals in countries with authoritarian rule and evolving strategic ties to the United States. Trump’s first major international trip in this term began in Saudi Arabia, where Trump Tower Jeddah is being developed, and also included stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Weeks before Trump traveled to the Middle East for the trip, the Trump Organization announced development of Trump Tower Dubai in the UAE and a new golf resort in Qatar.
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