For several months now, I have had the good fortune to avoid almost all news about the man once jokingly referred to as the “Aberdeenshire businessman” who was the 45th president of the United States.
However, it all came crashing down on December 1 when I foolishly tuned into GB News’ interview with Donald Trump – a rambling, self-congratulatory shamble of lies and old grievances, as was to be expected.
Halfway through his interview with Nigel Farage, Trump turned to one of his favourite subjects and ways of spending time: golf, and, in particular, Scotland and his Aberdeenshire golf course.
After covering how wonderful his world-class course is, the former president soon turned his attention to the great evil of our times. No, not climate change or poverty, but wind turbines.
Trump felt it necessary to spend some time making the world aware of this fearsome and monstrous threat.
“In Aberdeen, they built this ugly wind farm in the ocean – it’s so disgusting to look at it. It’s a shame, I built one of the most beautiful, one of the greatest golf courses – it’s been so reviewed – in the world,” he said.
“When these things are 20, 30 stories tall, they’re monsters to look at. They can be far out and they’re not far out, they’re right on top of you. I think it’s a shame what’s happened in Scotland, in UK, all over the place.”
Blind eyes are still turned too often for certain people
Wind farms stand for everything that Trump does not: the future, a healthy environment, green energy and stylish looks. Plus, they now have the benefit of annoying someone, who in my book, deserves to be annoyed to the full.
What’s more, Trump’s golf course has proven to be highly harmful to the local environment, including the Menie sand dunes that have now lost their environmentally protected status.
Scotland, and Aberdeen in particular, has an unfortunate history of accommodating or turning a blind eye to dodgy businessmen. Especially if they have authority, connections, and money.
This was evident in the case of Antonio La Torre, who set up shop in the Granite City in the 1990s. The senior member of mafia clan Camorra had a restaurant in Aberdeen’s city centre, as well as a successful food import business between Scotland and Italy.
The fact that he was allegedly laundering money and wanted by Italian prosecutors for mafia association did not seem to bother Scottish or UK authorities until 2004, when Italy sentenced him in absentia for robbery, racketeering and extortion.
Though times have changed since the early 2000s, it seems exceptions are still made, and blind eyes turned for millionaire golf course owners.
The most recent example of this is the obfuscation and blame-shifting in government around an unexplained wealth order probe to look into how Trump acquired his golf course properties in Scotland. Efforts to start an investigation have failed for the time being.
Corruption and cronyism need to be rooted out
Despite the justified ridicule of Trump’s financial empire, it would be naive to forget that he still wields considerable financial and political power. Do we really want someone who has proven themselves to be xenophobic, racist and arguably dangerous influencing Scotland?
People like the former president would have us believe that change is impossible or a “fake news” plot to subvert democracy
We do want successful businesses and investments to be based in Aberdeenshire and Scotland, of course, but that is also why we should be getting rid of Trump.
Just last month at the COP26 summit, one of the key messages from activists was that corruption and cronyism need to be rooted out if we are to have a chance of beating climate change. This especially applies to multinational conglomerates and millionaire businessmen who use their money and influence to get their way, whatever the consequences for the local environment and people.
As we’ve seen, Scotland has not always been a role model in this regard, but it can and should be. So, if that means pushing ahead and building more wind farms at sea despite objections from the wealthiest landowners, or committing to a faster phasing out of fossil fuels, then so be it.
I think it’s about time we give Trump and his golf course the boot and make use of the area in a way that is financially sound and actually benefits the environment and nearby communities.
People like the former president would have us believe that change is impossible or a “fake news” plot to subvert democracy. But I think we know it is people like him who are the real threat to our future.
Especially after a hard couple of years of having to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, a major rise in gas prices and the recent devastating weather, there could be worse ways to end 2021 than giving Trump the cold shoulder.
In fact, I think that getting rid of him would be a Christmas present everyone in Scotland could enjoy.
Anttoni James Numminen is a freelance journalist and editor-in-chief of Aberdeen University’s student newspaper, The Gaudie
Read more by Anttoni James Numminen:
- Aberdeen’s masterplan should be less about looks and more about the environment
- We are more than our jobs and Scotland should lead the way on the four-day working week
Trump at Menie: The untold tales of intrigue, threats of violence and destroyed friendships
