In December 2012, Donald Trump, threw a frothy. A person who had refused to let Trump force himself upon him had just been told by Scotland that he was their hero. Michael Forbes would not sell Trump his land for his golf course resort in Aberdeenshire.
Forbes had fought off the attacks by the bully who would be president. He is still fighting him.
The story of Forbes has been told, but as the world frets about the possibility Trump could walk into the Oval Office, it is worth the retelling. Forbes was voted the Glenfiddich Scot of the Year at the annual awards sponsored by the Scotch whisky company. He beat Andy Murray, who had won gold at the Olympics, in a poll voted upon by the Scottish people.
Forbes dressed up in a kilt to accept his award. On December 4, 2012 at 10.46pm, Trump tweeted: “How could Michael Forbes get Scot of the Year when he lost—badly—to me & Andy Murray, a true Scot, who won the U.S. Open & Olympic gold?”
Two days later, he was still seething: “Scots should boycott Glenfiddich garbage for not choosing great Olympic & U.S. Open champ Andy Murray over total loser Michael Forbes.”
The citation for the award read: ”Michael was resolute in his determination to stand his ground. His story and the unfolding battle attracted international coverage and the recent documentary brought his plight to an even greater audience.”
His farm is 23-acres and Trump wants it to build a second golf course on, alongside the other course that has cut off Forbes’ access to the beach and his boat that he uses to fish for salmon. He sold off an acre to anti-Trump protesters for the hell of it. He remembered meeting Trump in 2006.
“I had no idea who he was at that point. I might have kept my mouth shut, but I went right off him the first time I met him,” Forbes told the BBC. “He was being all nicey, nicey and talking about how successful he was and how much money he had. That was it for me. I took an instant dislike to him.”
In Michael D'Antonio Trump biography, Never Enough, Forbes recalled: “Trump said to me, ‘What’s this land worth, about twenty dollars an acre?’ I said, ‘Ach, in your dreams.’ “
The pressure increased. Trump tried to have him evicted, describing Forbes as living like a “pig”. The editor of the local paper, whose fiancé was doing PR for Trump, attacked the 15 homeowners who refused to sell. One family woke up to find thousands of tons of earth had been piled up all around their house. Evergreen trees were planted to block the view of another house.
But they kept up the fight. When Trump visited Scotland in June, Forbes and another homeowner raised Mexican flags on the border of Trump’s property. Build a wall around that, buddy.
I wonder what Jack Nicklaus, golf legend and course designer, thinks about the bullying of Forbes? Earlier this year he told CBS Sunday Morning: “If (Trump’s) the one that’s on the ticket, I’ll be voting for him.” He said he “likes what Donald has done. I like that he’s turning America upside down. He’s awakening the country.”
The other sports men and women who back Trump include John Daly, whose exes all wear Rolexes, tweeted on March 1, that Trump was “not politics he’s business! It’s what our country needs.” Dennis Rodman, who is big mates with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s version of Trump, backs his old friend to be president.
Rex Ryan, coach of the Buffalo Bills, endorsed Trump at a Trump rally six months ago in a speech. Tom Brady supports Trump. According to a report by the Bleacher Report last week, Trump has caused splits in locker rooms, and usually down black and white lines. One coach has banned players from talking about Trump. “A lot of black players believe saying the first black president isn’t really American is racist as f**k,” a player told Bleacher Report.
Being caught talking about sexual assaults on woman, Trump will, hopefully, have already done his own campaign. But folk can be stupid. Folk can walk the wrong path. Some folks want to hear someone else publically say what their racist, sexist, warped little minds hide away. They don’t see the wrong of Trump, then bewigged bully and braggart. Michael Forbes did.
The Star