Trump set on his course of action

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Scott Jagow There are some Scots that want to fire Donald Trump. Planning officials have resumed a hearing about Trump’s plans for a golf resort on the Scottish coast. The developer is trying to persuade the panel that his $2 billion project won’t damage the environment. From London, Stephen Beard reports.

Our man in London, Stephen Beard, joins us now. What’s this hearing been like this week?

Stephen Beard: Flying in on his large personal jet and sporting his trademark comb-over hairstyle, Trump has caused quite a stir in Scotland. True to form, he was not overly modest at the planning enquiry. He said having built the best golf courses in America, he now wants to build the best one in the world.

But the planning panel was set up after the local authority rejected his proposal. They claim it would harm some environmentally sensitive sand dunes. Trump refutes that claim, switching from brash to eco-friendly:

Donald Trump: Well we’re saving the dunes, we’re stabilizing and saving the dunes. and I think we’re doing a great service. A lot of governments pay a tremendous amount of money to stabilize dunes. I’m doing it for nothing…meaning, meaning I’m spending the money myself.

His project would bring hundreds of jobs to a depressed part of Scotland, and it has attracted a lot of support. The planning inquiry is expected to last about a month.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.