President Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that he was not in a good mood during a news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, though it wasn’t due to his recent round of golf. The president, who was attending a meeting at his Turnberry resort in Scotland, responded sharply to a reporter’s observation that he appeared to be in a “good mood.”
“I’m actually not in a good mood,” Trump said, leaving the audience curious about the cause of his apparent frustration. When another reporter asked if the bad mood was related to a poor round of golf, Trump quickly dismissed the suggestion. “No, the golf was beautiful,” he said. “Golf can never be bad. Even if you play badly, it’s still good. If you have a bad day on the golf course, it’s OK.”
Trump then explained that the source of his frustration was a longstanding issue—trade relations with Europe. “I look forward to this meeting,” he said. “We’ve had a hard time with trade with Europe. Very hard time. And I’d like to see it resolved”, according to The Daily Beast.
The timing of Trump’s comments comes amid reports that the president has been fuming behind the scenes about his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which has persisted despite his efforts to distance himself from it. On the golf course, Trump had spent Saturday and Sunday at his luxury Turnberry course on Scotland’s West Coast.
However, a video that emerged after his Sunday round led to accusations of the president cheating, which further soured his mood. Additionally, his presence in Scotland sparked protests throughout the weekend, with demonstrators voicing their displeasure at his visit to his mother’s homeland.
Despite the tension, Trump’s mood seemed to lift after his meeting with von der Leyen, during which the two leaders announced a significant trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. The agreement, which sets a 15 percent baseline tariff on most goods, was seen as a step toward averting an escalating trade war.
The deal also includes major commitments from the EU to buy U.S. energy and invest in U.S. industries, just ahead of an Aug. 1 tariff deadline. “We have a deal. We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it’s a big deal, it’s a huge deal,” von der Leyen said in her statement. Trump, visibly more upbeat, praised the agreement, calling it “the biggest of all the deals.”