(ReliableNews.org) – Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken out against wind farms over the years. His disdain for them can be traced back to his purchase of a property in Scotland. Nearly two decades later, he still hates wind turbines and has vowed to eliminate wind projects if he takes office next year.
During a May 11 rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump told the crowd that wind turbines kill whales. He promised his supporters that he would ensure offshore wind projects ended on day one of his administration if voters elected him.
“I’m going to write it out in an executive order. It’s going to end on day one,” Trump vowed.
The former president said wind turbines “destroy everything,” calling them “horrible” and “expensive.” He went on to say they are responsible for killing whales and birds.
Trump’s disdain for turbines began in 2006 when he purchased the property on the Scottish coast. He opened the Trump International Golf Links in 2012, but three years before he purchased the property, the government approved an offshore wind farm. Construction was approved for the wind farm in 2011 and Trump filed a complaint. He was worried about the turbines obstructing the view from his golf course. The wind farm was eventually built and began operating in 2018.
Pundits have pointed to the former president’s hate for turbines as one of his oldest political opinions. In April, he attended a fundraising dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club with oil industry executives. During the event, he told them that he hated wind energy. The former president promised the executives that he would end the US’ investments in the energy source.
A former Trump administration energy official said he’d be “pretty, pretty nervous” if he worked in the offshore wind industry.
Allison McLeod, a senior policy director at New Jersey’s League of Conservation Voters, told The Guardian that Trump was “speaking to big oil” with his remarks in Wildwood, not New Jersey voters.
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