Teed Off

   Vice President Joe Biden is to visit Ireland later this month, shortly after the British vote on whether to stay in the European Union.
   Not one to be upstaged, Donald Trump plans to tour his golf course in Scotland at the same time, with a side trip to another golf course he owns in Ireland.
   Whether British and Irish government officials will  take the time to greet the  U.S. presidential candidate is an open question. Already, an increasing number of Republican leaders say they will skip the GOP nominating convention in Cleveland, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Bush family with their two former Presidents, and others. Earlier this week, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, chair of the National Republican Governors Association, said she was too busy to attend a Trump rally in Santa Fe, and said she would not go to the convention.
   Now the question is whether British and Irish officials will be too busy to meet Trump during his tour.
   Certainly, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will no doubt meet with Biden on his official visit. But will the Irish and the Scots snub the Donald? Few groups are better equipped to do just that.
   British Prime Minister David Cameron, a Scot, has already opposed some of Trump's comments. And the newly elected mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, happens to be Muslim. Will the Donald, considering his anti-Muslim positions, deign to meet him, and will an invitation even be extended or accepted?
   In Dublin, members of the Irish parliament asked Kenny what he thought of some of Trump's statements and positions. After trying to evade the question, the prime minister finally labeled Trump's comments racist.
   So Trump will visit his golf course in Ireland. Question: Will he be welcomed? Here's some background. Trump has petitioned the local zoning agency for permission to build a wall along his beachfront golf course to keep out rising tides, and he has threatened to leave if he doesn't get his way.
   The Irish response to his demand was, in effect, Goodbye.
   He has met with a similar reaction from the Scots over plans for his golf course there.

   Trump has tried upstaging others before, setting up competing events at the same time as other events that showcase other candidates. Most notably, he sponsored a rally for veterans' benefits after he dropped out of a debate because he didn't like one of the Fox News moderators,  Megyn Kelly. At the time, last January, he claimed to have raised $6 million for veterans organizations.
   Five months later, when journalists asked what happened to the money, which had not yet been donated, Trump feigned outrage at "sleazy" reporters.
  Now he is planning once again to dominate the news cycle in an attempt to upstage Vice President Joe Biden as well as Irish and British officials.
   However, he will also face Irish, English and Scottish journalists who are even less influenced by potential repercussions than American reporters. And government officials may not even show up.