Trump debuts Sean Connery impression while sharing tales of Scottish ancestry on ‘Pod Force One'
The president cut the ribbon for the Trump International Golf Links course in Aberdeen Tuesday, two days after telling Post columnist Miranda Devine about his prolonged fight for zoning approvals that eventually forced him to enlist the help of the late James Bond star Sean Connery.
'I didn't know him well; I met him one time, but he liked me. I liked him, and he's a tough kind of a guy, as you probably know,' Trump said of Connery, who died in 2020 at the age of 90.
Advertisement
Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here!
'It was very tough zoning, environmentally here to get that approved. And when they approved it, they approved two courses, but I had to start the second one within 10 years from the first. So, if I didn't start it, let's say two years ago, we would have lost that right, you'd never get it back,' he went on.
'But Sean Connery, it was very hard getting the zoning because of the environment, and it was very highly protected … and he let out a howl once. He said, 'Let the bloody bloke build his damn golf courses and let him put money into our country. What's wrong with you?'' Trump added, deploying his best imitation of 'The Untouchables' actor.
Advertisement
'And soon as he said that, the whole thing got approved like so fast. It was crazy,' the president went on. 'I called him. I said, 'Thank you very much.' I said, 'You have great power.' I call him the King of Scotland. So I got to know him a little bit after that. He was great. He was a tough cookie.'
Trump kvetched elsewhere in the podcast about repeatedly running into regulatory issues over environmental concerns — having been confronted with 'ugly windmills' visible on the horizon from his Turnberry course.
5 President Trump debuted his best Scottish brogue while discussing his ancestry and the unveiling of a brand new golf course bearing his family's name during the latest episode of 'Pod Force One,' out Tuesday
Pod Force One / NY Post
5 'But Sean Connery … he let out a howl once. He said, 'Let the bloody bloke build his damn golf courses and let him put money into our country. What's wrong with you?'' Trump added in his best impression of the Scottish actor.
Advertisement
Trump's loathing of windmills dates back nearly 20 years, when in 2006, Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group built 11 wind turbines off the shore of the under-construction Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen course.
'With the reckless installation of these monsters, you will single-handedly have done more damage to Scotland than virtually any event in Scottish history,' he fumed in a missive to Scotland's then-First Minister Alex Salmond.
5 Trump kvetched during the two-day trip about how, since he'd begun developing on the island, he'd run into regulatory issues over environmental concerns — and been confronted with 'ugly windmills' dotting the horizon.
AP
Trump unsuccessfully tried to stop the construction of the turbines, saying the unsightly windmills ruined the views from the resort, with a court finally ruling against him in 2019.
Advertisement
'A lot of people use the environment to stop projects,' he told Devine, 'and I didn't want that to happen.'
Elsewhere in the interview, the 47th president shared the story of how his mother, born on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, met his father in New York City.
5 Elsewhere in the interview, the 47th president shared the story of how his mother, a Scottish immigrant, met his father in New York City.
Getty Images
'She was a young girl of about 18 years old, and she came to New York and she hadn't seen the world, and she met my father, and he was a successful guy, he was a young guy, but he was a successful guy, doing well. He was building houses,' Trump recalled.
'She was a beautiful woman. And he came home that night, he said, 'I've just,' — to my grandmother, who was a fantastic person, my father's mother — he said, 'Well, I just met my wife,'' he said of his then-32-year-old dad.
'My mother was born in Scotland; she loved Scotland. She was a big fan of the Queen [Elizabeth II], I have to tell you. Anytime the Queen was on television, my mother liked watching. She'd say, 'Oh, the Queen's on,'' he went on.
5 ''Braveheart,' one of the great movies of all time. But England had a hard time with Scotland. They couldn't quite tame them,' he said.
Daniel Torok / The White House
Advertisement
While the president's affinity for Scottish fare didn't extend to the isle's famed 'black pudding,' Trump did let slip that one of his favorites was 'Braveheart,' Mel Gibson's 1995 epic about the medieval Scottish warrior William Wallace.
''Braveheart,' one of the great movies of all time,' the president said. 'But England had a hard time with Scotland. They couldn't quite tame them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
a minute ago
- New York Post
John Thune says recess appointments are ‘on the table' as battle for Trump confirmations drags on
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Thursday floated allowing for recess appointments to speed up confirming a backlog of 161 administration officials tapped by President Trump. 'I think everything is on the table,' Thune told reporters, adding that alternatives — including limiting debate time or changing other procedural rules — 'make more sense.' The Senate has confirmed just 115 appointees, leading some members of the Republican conference like Mike Lee of Utah to call for a cancellation of the August recess to ram through the rest. Advertisement 5 Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Thursday floated allowing for recess appointments to speed up confirming a backlog of 161 administration officials tapped by President Trump. Mattie Neretin – CNP for NY Post But the recess appointments approach — which lets Trump unilaterally install nominees with both chambers of Congress out of session — is likely to run into obstacles given the need to clear a threshold of 50 Republican votes. It's a tough task given public opposition by a handful of senators in the conference and their 53-47 majority in the chamber. Advertisement House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his conference would also have to OK the adjournment of their chamber, along with the Senate's, to bypass so-called 'pro forma' sessions that can halt the procedure. 5 Neither Trump nor former President Joe Biden made any appointments during a recess in their previous terms. Getty Images Neither Trump nor former President Joe Biden made any appointments during a recess in their previous terms. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, however, made dozens of them. In an exclusive interview with The Post Wednesday, Thune said 'at some point' the Senate will have to change the nominations process. Advertisement The holdup has largely been driven by Democrats' opposition to the simple voice vote, which was the standard for confirming typical nominations since the 1990s, Thune added. 5 The Senate has confirmed just 115 appointees, leading some members of the Republican conference like Mike Lee of Utah to call for a cancellation of the August recess to ram through the rest. AP 'Going back multiple administrations, both Democrats and Republicans, as recently as Bill Clinton, 98% of all the noms considered were handled either by voice [vote] or UC [unanimous consent] and it's just deteriorated over time to where Trump's, you know, we're at zero here,' he noted. 'It's got to be fixed.' Senate Republicans have discussed eliminating the cloture vote, shortening debate time for nominees down to just two hours or voting on a group of noms in a block after they advance out of committee. Advertisement 'This is not sustainable, and it, it certainly hamstrings, I think, the functioning of our government in a way that's really detrimental to the country,' Thune claimed, saying he had been negotiating with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for potential handshake agreements. 5 Thune has been negotiating with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for potential handshake agreements. Getty Images Some of those have involved Democratic slots on the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission that have yet to be filled. Others include prosecutorial positions such as the Southern District of New York US attorney, which is currently occupied in an acting capacity by Jay Clayton, who chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump's first administration from 2017 to 2020. 5 'Schumer, he's got folks over there who keep approaching members on our side about wanting to make a deal on noms, but he's not having it,' Thune added. Mattie Neretin – CNP for NY Post 'They want him as US attorney for the Southern District — I'd figure out a way to make a deal, and I think there are things you can trade,' Thune said, 'That's the other part of this that, you know, you've got to give us trade bait.' 'Schumer, he's got folks over there who keep approaching members on our side about wanting to make a deal on noms, but he's not having it,' he added.
Axios
a minute ago
- Axios
Musk's erratic June included a $10 million peace offering
Elon Musk contributed $10 million to congressional Republicans just days after his public blowup with President Trump, an indication the tech billionaire was looking to make peace with the White House. But Musk reversed course less than two weeks later, when he called for the creation of a third party. Why it matters: Musk's donations, and his ensuing about-face, underscores his erratic relationship with the president since leaving the administration in late May. The contributions were made public on Thursday in campaign finance disclosures from the pro-GOP Senate Leadership Fund and Congressional Leadership Fund super PACs. Here's how the Trump-Musk timeline breaks down. May 27: Musk noted he was "disappointed" with Trump's "big, beautiful bill," saying it would increase the budget deficit and undermine DOGE. May 28: Musk officially left his role as head of DOGE, saying on Twitter that he would "like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," June 5: Musk attacked Trum p over the "big, beautiful bill," called for his impeachment, and asserted without evidence that the president is included in the Jeffrey Epstein files. June 6: Musk had a phone call with Vice President Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles with an eye toward making amends. June 7: Musk deleted his posts from June 5 savaging Trump. June 9: Musk spoke by phone with Trump. June 11: Musk posted that he "went too far" in his posts attacking Trump. June 27: Musk gave contributions of $5 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund and Congressional Leadership Fund. June 30: Musk threatened to form a third party called the America Party if Congress passed the "big, beautiful bill." July 5: Musk said he formed the America Party "to give you back your freedom." Zoom out: Musk also contributed more than $45 million to America PAC over the first six months of 2025, new disclosure reports showed.
San Francisco Chronicle
a minute ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thousands of DACA recipients in California to lose health insurance
More than 2,300 Californians enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program will lose their health insurance next month due to a change in federal policy, state officials announced Thursday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently revised its rules to exclude DACA recipients from the definition of 'lawfully present' under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, they are no longer eligible for coverage through federal health insurance programs. Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, said it will terminate coverage for affected enrollees on Aug. 31. 'Covered California is deeply disheartened by the updated rule issued by this federal administration, which targets DACA recipients who are working to provide for their families and secure access to essential health insurance,' said Jessica Altman, the agency's executive director. 'The decision is deeply unfair to hard-working, tax-paying individuals in California who trusted that they would have health insurance for 2025, only to have it stripped away eight months later.' The change is part of a series of recent actions by the Trump administration aimed at restricting benefits for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. Earlier this summer, the Department of Health and Human Services barred them from the federal healthcare marketplace, and the Department of Education launched investigations into colleges offering them financial aid. Covered California said it is reaching out to all impacted individuals and providing guidance on alternative coverage options, including Medi-Cal, employer-based plans and private insurance. Legal aid organizations and immigrant advocacy groups are also offering support. The policy shift has intensified fear and uncertainty among many DACA recipients, most of whom have lived in the U.S. since childhood and remain ineligible for permanent legal status.
