Trump plays golf in Scotland ahead of Putin summit amid Russian meddling claims

TURNBERRY / GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday at the time of the race with the 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 by Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.

Trump apologized to May for the furor over his withering public criticism, blaming "fake news" and promising instead of a bilateral trade agreement with Britain after it leaves the European Union in March.

While Trump took tea with Queen Elizabeth, U.S. federal grand jury charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with stealing data from the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump has repeatedly been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. 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 race.

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. "

While at the Turnberry race on Friday evening, an activist for the Greenpeace environmental campaign group swooped on a parachute within a few hundred yards of the president outside the golf course's hotel.

Trump moved calmly inside the parachute, surrounded by his security detail. British police said they were trying to trace the pilot.

PROTESTS

After Trump in Central London, the protests are planned on Saturday. A blimp depicting Trump as an orange, baby snarling was raised in the Scottish capital where hundreds protested.

At Turnberry, Trump waved at protesters who were chanting "No Trump" just a few hundred yards away on a beach beside the race. He appeared to say something to them. They booed.

"I'm here to quiet protest to say: I really do not want this man in our country," said Graham Creelman, 70, who joined a small protest on the beach.

"The government needs to take a stand against appalling attitudes and appalling behavior, and we're not doing it."

British Trade Secretary Liam Fox said anti-Trump protesters were an embarrassment to themselves as they had shown bad to the leader of the free world.

Around 100 supporters of Trump, some wearing "Make Britain Great Again" hats, expressed their admiration for the president opposite the U.S. embassy in London.

DONALD AND VLADIMIR

Trump and Putin, who control the world's two biggest nuclear arsenals, are due to meet in the Finnish capital, has come that evokes memories of Cold War showdowns between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Trump, a 72-year-old trainer New York real estate developer who praises his own dealmaking skills, and Putin, has a 65-year-old KGB trainer who knows a macho image as a Russian man of action, are due to have some time alone at the summit.

In the most detailed U.S. 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 expenses shine an even greater spotlight on Trump's treatment of Putin, who has repeatedly denied Russia sought to intervene or skew the U.S. election that Trump, a Republican, unexpectedly won.

Trump questioned why Barack Obama had not acted on claims of the Russian meddling if the FBI had informed the then president ahead of the 2016 election. He also asked where the Democratic National Committee is now.

"Why did not the FBI take possession of it? Deep State? "Trump asked on Twitter.

Trump said "yes."

The president also said he did not expect much progress on the issue. "I will absolutely bring that up," Trump told reporters. "I do not think you'll have any 'Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me. '"