As conventional wisdom has it, Donald Trump needs to be raising money, hiring campaign staff, and trying to sound presidential enough to begin to undo the damage his big mouth has recently wrought. Never call Trump conventional, though: instead, he’s heading to Scotland to spend some time with his golf courses. It’s a move that’s left observers baffled:
“Traditionally, nominees travel oversees during this period to brush up their foreign policy depth and visit 10 Downing Street and Israel — for politics back here,” said Scott W. Reed, senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Everyone knows this is the wrong thing for the nominee to be doing now, and it is amazing this can’t be stopped.” [...]
“Foreign trips are an inherently risky endeavor,” said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution who advised Mr. Romney in 2012. “Ideally, they will boost a candidate’s credibility on and familiarity with the geopolitical issues of the region they visit. But they require a lot of planning and logistical coordination. Seems to me that a foreign trip driven solely by personal financial interests — as Trump seems to be planning later this week — would be unprecedented.”
“Unprecedented” has to be one of the most useful words in talking about Trump. But speaking of Trump’s personal financial interests involved in this trip, his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a classic example of Trumpian business practices and the gulf between his words and reality.
Trump's original plan: A sprawling resort in the ancestral home of golf with two courses, a 450-room luxury hotel and spa, conference center, employee housing, a turf grass research center and a holiday community with hundreds of villas, condos and homes. The project would pump millions of dollars into the local economy and create 6,000 jobs - maybe even 7,000 jobs, Trump said at one press conference. Tourists would travel here from around the world, he promised, along with well-known celebrities like Scottish actor Sean Connery.
But today, the Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen employs just 150 people and consists of one golf course that meanders through majestic sand dunes, a clubhouse with a restaurant and 19 rooms for rent in a renovated mansion and former carriage house. There is also a maintenance facility and a road running through the property. Lonely and desolate, the resort has attracted no major tournaments and neighbors say the parking lot is rarely, if ever, full.
Trump’s financial filings with the British government are in line with that “lonely and desolate” description. Over there, he says he’s lost millions of dollars on the property. But when it comes time to try to dazzle American voters with his wealth, Trump claims to be making millions.
All in all, Trump is putting his image as a businessman over running his campaign. He’s trying to draw attention to his wealth by visiting a property that’s losing money, where his big plans never panned out, and where the neighbors hate him. In short, the trip to Scotland may be the perfect encapsulation of the entire Trump candidacy.