Donald Trump’s understanding environmental laws emanate from his days as a builder — a time when he had to work with local officials for zoning and permitting purposes. It has skewed his thinking while necessitating that he donate to those politicos who had been willing to help him.
Part-and-parcel of that experience, the Trump Organization had to pay millions of dollars to clean up a site outside Charleston, South Carolina — one where chemicals had leached into the soil and one run by his ne’er-do-well son, Donald Jr. Like everything else in his life, Trump Sr. wanted taxpayers to absorb the expense, although state regulators rejected his plea.
