So who is right? The answer is complicated.
The White House described the Scotland visit earlier this year as both a “private” and “working” visit.
Donald Trump found the time for a few rounds of golf while he was here.
But there also seemed to be quite a bit of official business taking place and plenty of politicians met the US president while he was on Scottish soil.
Trump hosted the EU Commission president, Ursula Von Der Leyen, at Turnberry, where they sealed a trade deal.
The next day he met Sir Keir Starmer. They even flew together on the president’s helicopter, Marine One, to his other golf course in Balmedie in Aberdeenshire.
First Minister John Swinney also had facetime with Donald Trump, attending a dinner with the president and meeting him the following day to discuss whisky tariffs.
President Trump was even greeted by the then-Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray, as he disembarked Air Force One at Prestwick Airport.
But the UK government is sticking to its position that the lack of an official invitation means the policing bill is not theirs to cover.
And it is not just Scottish government ministers who are angry at how this has played out.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) – which represents rank-and-file officers in Scotland – also wants the Treasury to pick up the bill.
Its chair, David Threadgold, said that Police Scotland does not have sufficient budget to cover unexpected, high-profile events like this as well as day-to-day policing.