'Trump wanted Diana as a trophy wife'

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London - Donald Trump saw Princess Diana as the “ultimate trophy wife” and “bombarded” her with flowers following the breakdown of her marriage, it has been claimed. Broadcaster Selina Scott said the billionaire businessman pursued the Princess of Wales to the point of “stalking” in the mistaken belief he “had a shot” with her. But Scott, 64, who has a long-running feud with Trump, claimed he actually gave Diana “the creeps”. Writing in the Sunday Times, she said: “He bombarded Diana at Kensington Palace with massive bouquets, each worth hundreds of pounds. “Trump clearly saw Diana as the ultimate trophy wife. As the roses and orchids piled up at her apartment she became increasingly concerned about what she should do. It had begun to feel as if Trump was stalking her.”

Scott, once the golden girl of British television, became close to Diana after meeting her in the 1980s when she visited ITN, describing her as “great fun”. She said the Princess confided in her about Trump over dinner. “‘What am I going to do?’ she asked. ‘He gives me the creeps.’”

Scott said Diana laughed when she told her to throw the flowers in the bin.

She added: “When she died in the tragic accident in Paris in 1997 Trump told friends his biggest regret was that they hadn’t dated. He said that he always thought he had a chance of romance and would have had a ‘shot’ with her.”

Mr Trump, who is now running for US president, once described the Princess of Wales as a “dream lady”. Writing in his 1997 book, The Art Of The Comeback – which tells how he survived the depression in the 1990s and went on to make millions – he said: “I only have one regret in the women department – that I never had the opportunity to court Lady Diana Spencer.

“I met her on a number of occasions. I couldn’t help but notice how she moved people. She lit up the room with her charm, her presence. She was a genuine princess – a dream lady.”

His spokesperson told the Sunday Times: “They had a great relationship, liked each other a lot, but nothing ever came of it.”

Trump, 69, the real-estate mogul turned celebrity, is reportedly worth $4-billion. He has been married three times. He announced in June that he would be seeking the Republican party’s nomination in the 2016 presidential race and is currently ahead in the polls, despite a number of controversial remarks.

First he claimed Mexico was bringing “drugs, crime and rapists” to US and pledged to build a “great, great wall” on the Mexican-American border, prompting accusations of racism.

In his latest comments, he has vowed to deport America’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants if elected, saying no exceptions would be made, including deporting children. “We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go,” he said.

Scott fell out with Mr Trump in 1994 after she made an unflattering documentary about him. The programme raised questions about his true wealth and was, she said, the “first unvarnished examination of the man and his business practices”.

“Almost as soon as I was ushered into his office in the Trump Tower he wanted to know the intimate details of the deteriorating state of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, which was big news in America,” she wrote

Scott, who helped launch Breakfast Television with the BBC, said Trump “saw his chance’ once the marriage ended – and the flowers began to arrive.

“They were accompanied by handwritten notes expressing sympathy, his great regard for her and the suggestion that they get together,” she said.

In the article, Scott told how her documentary – which showed him contradicting himself on a number of points – “provoked uncontrolled fury from Trump”.

She claimed he sent her a number of vicious letters following the broadcast of the show, and then again when she opposed his plans to build a golf course in Aberdeenshire. They accused her of being “uptight”, “insecure” and “not at all very smart” and only stopped when she threatened him with legal action, she said.

Daily Mail