Trump plays golf in Scotland ahead of Putin summit
US President Donald Trump played golf yesterday at his course on the western coast of Scotland ahead of a summit with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin that could be overshadowed by accusations that Russians meddled in the US 2016 election.
In an uproarious trip to Europe, Trump harangued members of the Nato military alliance, scolded Germany for its dependence on Russian energy and shocked Britain by publicly criticising Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.
Trump apologised to May for the furore over his withering public critique, blaming "fake news" and promising instead a bilateral trade agreement with Britain after it leaves the European Union in March.
While Trump took tea with Queen Elizabeth, a US federal grand jury charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with stealing data from the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump has repeatedly said the investigation into suspected Russian interference in the 2016 US election - which he casts as a "rigged witch hunt" - makes it hard for him to do substantive deals with Moscow.
After meeting the queen at Windsor Castle, Trump headed to Scotland, where his mother, Mary Anne, was born. Trump, wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with "USA", was seen by two Reuters reporters playing golf on his Turnberry Trump course.
Describing golf as "my primary form of exercise," Trump wrote on Twitter: "The weather is beautiful, and this place is incredible! Tomorrow I go to Helsinki for a Monday meeting with Vladimir Putin."
After tens of thousands of people marched peacefully against Trump in central London, more protests are planned yesterday. A blimp depicting Trump as an orange, snarling baby was raised in the Scottish capital where hundreds protested.
Trump and Putin, who control the world's two biggest nuclear arsenals, are due to meet in the Finnish capital, a venue that evokes memories of Cold War showdowns between the Soviet Union and the United States.
In the most detailed US accusation to date that Moscow meddled in the presidential election, a federal grand jury said Russian military intelligence agency officers covertly monitored computers of Clinton's campaign and Democratic campaign committees, and stole large amounts of data.
The charges shine an even greater spotlight on Trump's treatment of Putin, who has repeatedly denied Russia sought to intervene or skew the US election that Trump, a Republican, unexpectedly won.
When asked at a news conference on Friday whether he would tell Putin to stay out of US elections, Trump said "yes."
The president also indicated he did not expect much progress on the issue. "I will absolutely bring that up," Trump told reporters. "I don't think you'll have any 'Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me.'"