Exclusive:JD Vance expected to visit Donald Trump's resort during Scotland visit

JD Vance is expected to visit Donald Trump’s flagship Scottish property when he visits Scotland later this week, reigniting questions over how the US president’s private business is able to generate revenue via his government.

The US vice president is expected to arrive in Scotland later on Wednesday, just weeks after Mr Trump made his own high-profile visit to the country.

As part of his trip, The Scotsman understands that Mr Vance will visit Trump Turnberry, the resort which has been owned by Mr Trump since 2014.

One source at the property said staff were preparing for a visit by Mr Vance and his staff, together with members of the US Secret Service, describing it as a “high profile” event.

JD Vance is expected to visit Trump Turnberry as part of his visit to Scotland. Picture: Getty | Getty Images

Airspace restrictions have been put in place around Turnberry, a four-time host of golf’s prestigious Open Championship, ahead of Mr Vance’s arrival in Scotland.

A notice uploaded to the NATS air traffic service website notes that a “VIP” will visit Turnberry between 14 and 15 August, with the UK transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, imposing the restrictions covering all types of aircraft.

The notice, which comes into force at 7am on Wednesday and lasts until 8pm on Thursday, also prevents drones, other unmanned aircraft, or parachutists from taking to the air in the vicinity of Mr Trump’s property.

Since Mr Trump’s first term in office, ethics watchdogs have raised repeated concerns about the hundreds of trips he and his adult children have made to Trump Organisation properties, with the Secret Service running up significant bills at his properties.

US president Donald Trump visited his Turnberry property last month. Picture: Getty | Getty Images

Mr Trump’s Scottish firms have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in payments from the US government, even when the 79 year-old or his children have not been visiting.

In 2020, for example, The Scotsman revealed how the then billionaire US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, ran up a bill to US taxpayers totalling more than £1,000 in a single day while staying at Turnberry. Mr Johnson enjoyed a £426 dinner with his wife at the property, and also spent several hundred pounds on its golf offerings.

Mr Trump visited both Turnberry and his inaugural Scottish resort, Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire, last month. During the trip he repeatedly promoted his properties, sparking criticism.

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“We’re at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn’t seem to see much of a difference,” said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for the ethics watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.”

Mr Vance and his family were in Kent last week, where they stayed at Chevening House, the official residence of foreign secretary David Lammy, before spending time in the Cotswolds. He met with Mr Lammy on Friday, when the two men also went fishing.

The US vice-president is expected to arrive at Glasgow Prestwick Airport later Wednesday, and will be staying for at least part of his time in Scotland at Carnell Estates, an historic mansion house near Hurlford, East Ayrshire.

Carnell’s executive owner, Adrienne Eastwood, a marketing executive who used to work at Skibo Castle, was presented with a gift by Mr Trump during his visit to Turnberry last month.