Trump: Horrible migrant invasion is killing Europe
Story by Benedict Smith, Rob Crilly
The Telegraph
25/07/25
Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport – AP
President Donald Trump told Britain to “get its act together” on illegal migration after he landed in Scotland for a four-day visit.
The US president claimed that a “horrible invasion” was taking place and had to “stop”, shortly after touching down on Air Force One at Glasgow Airport.
He said: “You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore.
“You’ve got to stop this horrible invasion that is happening to Europe, many countries in Europe.
“Some leaders have not let it happen, and they’re not getting the proper credit… I could name them to you right now, but I’m not going to embarrass the other ones. But stop, this immigration is killing Europe.”
Mr Trump, who made a border clampdown a key plank of his second term, said: “Last month we had nobody entering our country.”
Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to tackle illegal migration with more than 22,000 small boats heading across the English Channel this year as of mid-July, up roughly 50 per cent on 2024 levels.
Police have raised concerns of a “summer of unrest” in the UK after protests erupted outside a hotel in Essex used to house asylum seekers this week.
In London, a ring of steel has been put up around a four-star hotel in London’s Canary Wharf put on standby for a surplus of migrants arriving from the Channel.
Mr Trump will visit his golf courses and meet with Sir Keir and Ursula von der Leyen during his time in the UK.
The White House played down the significance of the meeting with Sir Keir, saying the two leaders are unlikely to announce any major policy breakthroughs.
Despite seemingly taking a swipe at Sir Keir over his migration policies, Mr Trump later praised the Prime Minister for the trade deal the two leaders struck in May.
Related video: US President, Donald Trump speaking from Scotland says migration is killing Europe (The Telegraph)
US President, Donald Trump speaking from Scotland says migration is killing Europe
“I like your Prime Minister – slightly more liberal than I am, as you probably heard, but he’s a good man,” the president told reporters in Glasgow.
“He got a trade deal done, and you know, they’ve been working on this deal for 12 years. He got it done. It’s a good deal. It’s a good deal for the UK.”
Mr Trump said there will not be a re-negotiation but a “celebration” of the trade deal.
Mr Trump said he would likely meet with Sir Keir tomorrow evening, calling him a “very successful man” who was “doing a good job”.
The meeting between Mr Trump and Sir Keir is being framed by officials as a relationship building opportunity ahead of Mr Trump’s official state visit in September.
Sir Keir and Mr Trump have developed a warm rapport and Mr Trump’s meeting with Sir Keir is “a recognition of the relationship that the US has with the UK,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, previously told The Telegraph.
“And, you know, I think he (Trump) genuinely likes him as a person. That’s why they get along.”
Ms Von Der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, confirmed she would be meeting with Mr Trump just hours after he said there was “a 50-50 chance, maybe less” of the EU and US reaching a trade agreement.
Protesters are expected to stage demonstrations against Mr Trump on his trip at both of his golf courses in Scotland.
However, the visit will be a welcome break for the president, who has been dogged by allegations that the White House is suppressing information in the so-called Epstein files.
Before leaving Washington DC, Mr Trump opened the door to a possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, who legal experts believe could give favourable testimony to help draw attention away from him and onto other associates of the financier.
He told reporters: “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.”
Campaign groups in Scotland have vowed to welcome Mr Trump with a “festival of resistance” and make their voices heard on issues from climate change to the Israel-Hamas war.
Cllr Gavin Scott, an independent councillor for Girvan and South Carrick, said the police had gone above and beyond with security measures to deter potential disruption.
He told The Telegraph: “A local resident likened the high fencing and sniper tower surrounding the golf course to an American prison, finding the view quite disturbing and intimidating with a large armed police presence.”
On Tuesday, protesters sabotaged a sign at Mr Trump’s golf course in Aberdeenshire with a placard that claimed the luxury resort was “twinned with Epstein Island”.
In March, Palestine Action covered the resort’s white buildings in red paint. In April, Greenpeace created a sand portrait of Mr Trump on the beach by the course beside a message reading: “Time to fight the billionaire takeover.”