US President Donald Trump (R) speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) during a meeting, in Turnberry south west Scotland, on July 27, 2025

US President Donald Trump spent part of his weekend in Scotland reviving his old grievances against wind power, even claiming at one point that it was “killing” Americans.

During a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump abruptly detoured from immigration to wind turbines.

“And the other thing I say to Europe: We will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States,” Trump said. “They’re killing us.”

He added:

“They’re killing the beauty of our scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains ― and I’m not talking about airplanes. I’m talking about beautiful plains, beautiful areas in the United States, and you look up and you see windmills all over the place. It’s a horrible thing. It’s the most expensive form of energy. It’s no good. They’re made in China, almost all of them.”

He complained that wind turbines “rust and rot in eight years,” and then can’t be “buried” because they will harm the soil.

“The whole thing is a con job,” he said. “It’s very expensive. And in all fairness, Germany tried it and wind doesn’t work.”

Much of what the president said was wildly inaccurate: Germany gets more than a quarter of its energy from wind, turbines last about 30 years (not eight) according to the US Department of Energy, it’s not the most expensive form of energy, and they’re not “almost all” made in China.

Several users asked Grok, the AI tool within X, to fact-check Trump’s claims on wind power.

Here’s a typical response:

Grok

Trump, who has frequently attacked renewable energy, has a special hatred of wind power that likely began some two decades ago, when an offshore wind farm was proposed near the land that would become his golf resort in Scotland.

He

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