Donald Trump was silent for an entire car journey knowing he had “screwed up” after picking a fight with a farmer who opposed his Scottish golf resort, his former project director has claimed.
The former US president had become embroiled in a war of words with Michael Forbes, who refused to move out of his home on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire to make way for the golf development.
Trump described Forbes’s home as “disgusting” and “a pigsty”, which led to a David and Goliath battle between the pair.
The tycoon’s plans to build the golf resort had been all set to go ahead without much controversy at the time.
However, Neil Hobday said his comments about Forbes at a press conference in 2010 “changed everything” and resulted in huge opposition to the plans.
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Speaking on new BBC Scotland podcast, Trumped, Hobday said: “I’ll never forget that press conference because everything changed.
“He had been flying high with opinion polls and everybody was supporting him. The last question at the press conference was from a young lady who said, ‘Mr Trump how does it feel to be back in Scotland?’
“His response was so stunning that I thought I was dreaming, having a nightmare. He went off on Michael Forbes. I thought ‘This is shit, this has ruined everything’.
“I got him out of the press conference and we got in the car to drive to Aberdeen airport where his plane was waiting. We said not a word the whole way back. He knew he had screwed up.
“Whatever goes on in Trump’s mind, nobody can figure it out. I couldn’t believe he did that, I was shaking with anger.
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“We almost had a perfect outcome until that outburst. If I was Michael Forbes I would have reacted exactly the same way, I would have been furious to have been insulted in that way.”
Hobday, who resigned as project director in 2010, said Trump later tried to justify his remarks by boasting they had generated huge publicity for the golf course. He added: “He called a few days later and acted as if nothing happened.
“I told him it was all a bit heavy over here following the press conference.
“He said ‘People in Brazil and Australia now know about my project. I just saved $10 million in advertising and PR’. That’s how he justified his outburst.”
The Trump International Golf Links opened in 2012 after being granted planning permission but Forbes still lives in his home after refusing to sell up.
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A portrait of Forbes was showcased in the National Galleries of Scotland and he received the Top Scot award in 2012 at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards.
