The Ugliest of Americans, Donald Trump Demands Scotland Abandon Renewable Energy Project – Spoils the View of His Golf Course

Another Sign of the Decline and Fall of  . . .

It turns out that Liberals and Progressives are not then only people who pursue a NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) philosophy when it comes to public policy and projects for the common good.  For several years New England progressives have been aghast that wind turbines off the New England shore would disrupt their view of bays and oceans from their luxurious beach front properties.  So while they favor reducing reliance on burning carbon forms for energy, they surely don’t want a wind turbine program to disrupt their aesthetics.

But while those folks have protested in a  somewhat restrained manner, leave it to that crass American, Donald Trump to lead the way in obnoxious behavior.  Mr. Trump is developing a golf resort in Scotland and is upset that Scotland is considering a wind turbine farm near his sacred (for him) lands.

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By Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images

A demonstrator holds a Donald Trump puppet outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

Donald Trump on Wednesday swept into Scotland's parliament to demand the country end plans for an offshore wind farm he fears will spoil the view at his exclusive new $750-million-pound ($1.2-billion) golf resort.

In a typically blunt display, the New York property tycoon told an inquiry into renewable energy to stop wind power efforts in the country's north.

"Scotland, if you pursue this policy of these monstrous turbines, Scotland will go broke," he said. "They are ugly, they are noisy and they are dangerous. If Scotland does this, Scotland will be in serious trouble and will lose tourism to places like Ireland, and they are laughing at us."

Now the last we checked The Donald was a citizen of the United States (he did run for President you know) and not a citizen of Scotland so exactly what right he has to demand anything of the Scottish Parliament is not clear.  As for the laughing, well it turned out there was laughter but not the way Mr. Trump expected.

When challenged to produce hard evidence about his claims on the negative impact of turbines, Trump said: "I am the evidence, I am a world class expert in tourism."

The public gallery burst into laughter.

Funny, that’s the way those of us in American reacted to Mr. Trump’s candidacy.