Nigel Farage’s Trump journey boast backfires as he offers defensive reply
The Reform chief Nigel Farage reportedly boasted to supporters last week he would be jetting to Florida to dine at the US President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach
Nigel Farage with the US President Donald Trump back in 2020(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Nigel Farage has been quizzed on his apparent failure to secure an audience with Donald Trump – despite travelling to the US President’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
The Reform chief reportedly boasted to supporters last week he would be jetting to Florida to dine at the American leader’s resort in Palm Beach.
He said he would “reinforce the message” about his opposition to the UK government’s Chagos islands deal after the US President’s flip-flopping on the issue. The pact will see the UK cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the largest island Diego Garcia – the site of a US-UK military base.
Mr Farage’s comments led many to believe he would be meeting with the US President as relations between Keir Starmer and Mr Trump hit a new low over the Iran war. But the Financial Times reported Mr Farage, who had been invited by a member of the Mar-a-Lago club, failed to meet Mr Trump on Friday after the US President changed his travel plans to stay in Doral around a hour’s drive away.
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Questioned at a press conference on Tuesday whether his relationship had cooled with Mr Trump, the Reform leader replied: “Journalists speculate about all sorts of things. I wouldn’t want to rob you of a living – so you can go on speculating about my relationship with President Trump. That’s just fine.”
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He went on: “He’s a friend of mine, I agree with many things he does. I don’t agree with other things he does. His style is not to the liking of many British people but we should recognise we’re lucky to have an American President that actually likes us.”
Mr Farage also dismissed Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey’s call for the King’s upcoming state visit to the US to be cancelled amid the fall-out from the Middle East conflict. He said: “Ed Davey’s idea that the King should cancel the visit to America is a really immature and stupid idea. We’ve had our ups and downs with America over the years, we’ll have them in the years to come.
Last month Mr Farage was also accused of “cheap stunt” after moaning about being denied entry to the Chagos islands by the British government. Pointing at a small boat he was due to board in a video posted on X, the MP for Clacton Mr Farage said: “I have been denied entry to the Chagos Islands by the UK government.”
He added: “The British government are applying pressure on the President, on the government of the Maldives to do everything within their power to stop me getting on that boat and going to the Chagos islands. If I was in an Isis fighter crossing the Channel to Dover, they wouldn’t give a damn.”
But the Foreign Office website makes clear the restricted access of the British Indian Ocean Territory. It states: “The British Indian Ocean Territory is not a tourist destination. There are no commercial flights, access is restricted and you need a permit before you travel.”
