Arriving in Scotland on the day of the UK’s momentous vote to leave the European Union, Donald Trump had a lot to say about his new golf course.
Breezily mentioning that it was a “historic” day for Britain, Trump devoted the rest of a 15-minutes Friday press conference at his Turnberry course to discussing the “incredible suites” at the resort and the pars on the different holes. It wasn’t until he opened the floor to questions that reporters prompted him to touch on the consequences of the Brexit vote.
“Look, if the pound goes down they’re going to do more business,” Trump said when asked about the economic ramifications. “When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly. The pound has gone down, and let’s see what the impact of that has, but places like Scotland and England and different places, in Great Britain, I think you’ll see a lot of activity.”
Trump maintained this focus on his own economic interests throughout the press conference, insisting that he was in Scotland only to support his son Eric’s work on restoring the Turnberry course.
Asked about the “seismic impact” on the global economy and if he would “steal back” his investments from Scotland, Trump noted that he had “big investments in Europe.”
“As you know I own Doonbeg in Ireland, a phenomenal hotel. One of the most beautiful hotels. One of the most highly rated hotels in all of Europe and it’s got a golf course on this large almost 500-acre parcel of land, on the Atlantic Ocean, and does great. I own Turnberry. I own Aberdeen,” he said, before saying he was looking forward to returning to the campaign trail.
Trump brought up his “great golf course” in Aberdeen again when asked if Scotland, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, should become independent from the UK. He said that decision should be left up to the people of Scotland.
As recently as Wednesday, Trump said he didn’t think his opinion on the referendum mattered since he didn’t know much about the issues involved.
“I don’t think anybody should listen to me because I haven’t really focused on it very much,” Trump told Fox News.
On Friday, the presumptive GOP nominee drew parallels between the Brexit vote and the nationalist campaign he is running in the U.S., claiming that both prove that “people want to take their country back.” Yet he seemed unconcerned by the far-ranging consequences.
Trump told MSNBC’s Katy Tur that he did not bring any of his foreign policy advisors along for the trip, saying he’d “been in touch with them, but there’s nothing to talk about.”
“This would be a good thing. I think it will turn out to be a good thing. Maybe not short term but ultimately a good thing,” he said.
Trump also dismissed questions about Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s concerns that the Brexit would negatively impact the U.S. economy.
“They don’t know,” he said. “Look, we have to see how it plays out. What I like is that I love to see people take their country back. And that’s really what’s happening in the United States.”
Trump said several times during the conference that he knew the vote would turn out this way.
“You know, I felt, again, knowing that people here very well, but not wanting to get involved, but I felt that was going to happen,” he claimed.
