Donald Trump and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer

Donald Trump hasn’t had a good couple of weeks and the reasons all go back to the Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen, Scotland. Scratch has told you about his personal quest to open the golf resort here, here, and here. First, Anthony Baxter’s contentious documentary, “You’ve Been Trumped”, has opened in Manhattan and is gettin’ attention from media outlets such as NPR and The New York Times. From early reviews, Mr. Trump comes off as a pompous, villainous bully as locals have their water and power cut house, their houses surrounded by walls of dirt, and are threatened with the Scottish equivalent of eminent domain.

Baxter is a local who decided to start filmin’ after the local’s council’s ruling against Trump’s extravagant project was overturned. The local government had sought to protect the fragile dune ecosystem; however the region’s Member of Parliament, Alex Salmond, claimed that the economic gains supplanted the environmental concerns. Soon the local farmers and fishermen found themselves bein’ bullied by those supportin’ the development; so, Baxter started handin’ out cameras to them. As NPR reports, “Now active in telling their own story, the residents train them on the ravages of construction: a line of trees felled and unceremoniously dumped in a hole, and vital sand dunes irretrievably flattened.” As you may know, the local movement against the resort, Tripping Up Trump, was unsuccessful in stopping the openin’ of the first course last month.

Second, it seems that the development of the rest of the resort may have a hit a snag. As Frank Urquhart reports, Swedish energy giant Vattenfall announced proposals to increase both the height and the radius of the turbines in the renewable energy project. Trump responded by saying,

“My project is a far greater development in terms of jobs, pounds spent and potential revenues to the area than the ugly, inefficient turbines contemplated in the Vattenfall proposal.

“Alex Salmond [local MP] must have a death wish. Other countries throughout the world are abandoning wind turbine projects and not building previously approved structures because the economics just don’t work. Without subsidies from England, Scotland would not be able to sustain his folly.”

“We intend to fight this application and defeat these horrendous proposals that will ultimately destroy Scotland. As the many accolades about my course in Scotland continue to accumulate, the battle against these abominations has become even more urgent. We will do whatever is necessary to permanently end what has become the irrational obsession of a failing government that has lost all credibility because it has no viable economic game plan for its future other than ‘wind turbines’.”

Trump said that the electricity project would destroy the “majestic beauty” of the area.Well, there may have been majestic beauty before Trump got his hands on it.

Now Scratch loves golf as much as the next caveman, probably more, but he hates to see the little guys take advantage of like this. Especially by a blowhard with bad hair. What do you think? Trump says he wants to make the world’s best golf resort. Should he or should the locals have the final say in this decision?