President Donald Trump has paid tribute to the 'highly regarded and respected' Sir Sean Connery following the actor's death yesterday at the age of 90.

The James Bond legend passed away peacefully in his sleep in the Bahamas, with his wife subsequently revealing that he had been struggling with dementia.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday morning, Trump praised Connery for helping him to open his controversial golf course near Aberdeen, Scotland more than a decade ago.

"The legendary actor, 007 Sean Connery, has past on to even greener fairways," Trump wrote. "He was quite a guy, and a tough character.

"I was having a very hard time getting approvals for a big development in Scotland when Sean stepped in and shouted,'Let him build the damn thing'.

"That was all I needed, everything went swimmingly from there. He was so highly regarded & respected in Scotland and beyond that years of future turmoil was avoided.

"Sean was a great actor and an even greater man. Sincere condolences to his family!"

Trump had faced opposition in building the golf course due to their proximity to a 4,000-year-old sand dune system, which has since been irrevocably damaged and is on the verge of losing its status as a site of special scientific interest.