US President Donald Trump paid tribute to a famous actor Sir Sean Connery following his passing. He claimed that the late Bond star intervened in his favor when he was trying to build a golf resort in Scotland. On Sunday, President Trump tweeted that Sir Sean got involved over an unspecified Trump Organization development in the actor’s homeland. Trump said, “The legendary actor, 007 Sean Connery, has passed (sic) on to even greener fairways. He was quite a guy and a tough character. I was having a very hard time getting approvals for a big development in Scotland when Sean stepped in and shouted. Let him build the damn thing. That was all I needed, everything went swimmingly from there”.
President Trump also said, “He was so highly regarded & respected in Scotland and beyond those years of future turmoil was avoided. Sean was a great actor and an even greater man, sincere condolences to his family!” Point to be noted that Trump’s mother Mary was originally from Scotland. He faced opposition to building his Trump International Golf Links on the Aberdeenshire coastline. Plans for the development were initially rejected before a Scottish National Party-run government inquiry led to its approval in 2008. President Trump’s resort on the Menzie estate has been dogged by controversy since it opened in 2012. Trump had promised to turn the land into the world’s best golf course, worthy of hosting events such as The Open Championship.
It is noteworthy that its construction has been blamed for partially destroying 4,000-year-old sand dunes that are a site of specific interest (SSSI). The dunes were expected to lose their SSSI status because of the damage to the site and permanent habitat loss. The Trump Organization also owns the Turnberry golf resort on the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire. Proud Scot Sir Sean died on 31st October 2020. He was a keen golfer and the first member at Trump International Golf Links, Scotland. President Trump said in 2011 that he had needed the Bahamas-residing Scottish nationalist to open the resort, alongside the then-first minister Alex Salmond.