Nigel Farage, the man dubbed “Mr Brexit” by President Donald Trump, says he hopes to spend more to time in the U.S. once Britain is out of the European Union, hopefully in time to see the American leader win the 2020 presidential race.
Mr Farage, who made an astonishing comeback to frontline politics when his weeks-old Brexit Party came first in the European Parliament elections in May, was one of the few leading politicians to endorse the President when he was still just a candidate, expected to lose decisively the Democrat rival Hillary Clinton by most “most” commentators.
Speaking to The Times about his plans if Brexit is finally delivered — no small task, he believes, as he is unconvinced Prime Minister Boris Johnson can deliver it by its latest deadline of October 31st, the veteran MEP said he finds the American political scene “fascinating, particularly given that the big fella is going to win next year with a landslide.”
Mr Farage and “the big fella” have a strong relationship, with the President having met with him shortly after his upset victory over Mrs Clinton and kept in contact with him for insight into how the Brexit process was unfolding — or not — under Prime Minister Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.
President Trump even recommended Farage for the position of British ambassador to the United States — a position which is now free once again, after Mrs May’s decision to go with a pro-EU career bureaucrat rather than “Mr Brexit” ended in tears.
“I’d be a damn sight better than the last one,” Farage quipped to The Times when asked if it was a job he would still be interested in.
“It would be great fun and I’d love it. But there is a job to finish here,” he said.
Farage Predicts General Election, Urges Boris to Embrace Tory-Brexit Party Pact https://t.co/2IyER6LzYF
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 3, 2019
President Trump is unpopular with much of the British mainstream media, which is used to a political landscape in which the discourse is much more heavily circumscribed and the main political parties — despite a characteristically robust back and forth — all have broadly the same left-neoliberal views on globalisation, immigration, and even the European Union, with most minister and MPs even in Boris Johnson’s government and parliamentary party being former Remain voters.
“Sometimes, even as a supporter and a friend, you feel like a kid watching Doctor Who,” Farage said of what he described as the “pretty brisk style” of the U.S. President, feigning fear at the sight of imaginary Daleks.
Interrogated by his interviewer on the subject of President Trump’s recent back and forth with the far-left ethnic minority Congresswomen of “The Squad”, which culminated with Trump supporters chanting “send her back” about one them — Somali-born Ilhan Omar — at a rally, the Brit said the episode demonstrated Trump’s political shrewdness.
“I know, I know. I thought: ‘Dear, oh dear, oh dear.’ You realise, 48 hours on, it was genius because what’s happened is the Democrats gather round the Squad, which allows him to say: ‘Oh look, the Squad are the centre of the Democratic Party.’ He’s remarkably good at what he does,” Farage explained.
“He does things his way. But he is a remarkably effective operator.”
Nigel Farage: Trump Supports Brexit Because It Will Upend ‘Global Bureaucracy’ https://t.co/J8fsnTa8um
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 21, 2018
Mr Farage also praised the President for his magnanimity, however, and in particular for his efforts to build a warm relationship with Boris Johnson as the American and British governments are preparing to put together a major trade deal once Britain leaves the EU and takes back control of international trade policy, currently retained by Brussels.
“He’s always tried to be friendly to Boris even though Boris has not always been friendly to him,” Farage said, referring to Johnson’s highly disparaging remarks about Trump when he was just a candidate for the Republican nomination, considered a no-hoper by insiders.
“The remarkable thing about Trump is the extent to which he has managed, with people who have said beastly things about him, to put it behind him,” he said.
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