Trump's Distant Maternal Relatives Protest His Arrival in Edinburgh: 'We Disown Trump'

As President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland, he was greeted by protestors, including a distant relative holding a sign announcing his mother's Scottish ancestral clan "disowned" him.

Janet MacLeod-Trotter, a distant relative of Trump through his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, joined demonstrators rallying outside the US consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday.

"WE MACLEODS DISOWN TRUMP," her sign proclaimed.

Trump's mother emigrated in 1930 at the age of 18 from Scotland to New York, where she worked as a domestic servant until she met the president's father, Fred Trump.

"A lot of Macleods are very upset with the way he's conducting all sorts of international and national issues,"MacLeod-Trotte told NPR. "He's misusing his heritage."

Although there were clusters of supporters welcoming Trump to his mother's homeland, larger crowds showed up in opposition to his visit. Protesters waved Palestinian flags, carried photos of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and displayed signs mocking the US president. Recent polling shows 71% of Scots view him unfavorably—higher than the UK-wide figure of 57%.

MacLeod-Trotter specifically criticized Trump's commercial developments, including a new golf course in Aberdeenshire he is set to inaugurate in honor of his mother.

"He doesn't do anything to help the people of Lewis, where his mother came from," she said. "He just comes over to buy up golf courses and line his own pockets."

The current visit has included select diplomatic meetings, but is largely private and focused on golfing. Trump will return in September for a formal state visit with King Charles III.