Nigel Farage has said he is willing to help incoming US ambassador Lord Mandelson negotiate with Donald Trump’s administration.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed the former New Labour minister earlier this month. He is due to take up his new role in Washington early next year.
In the days after his appointment, one of the managers of Mr Trump‘s presidential election campaign, Chris LaCivita, described him as an “absolute moron”.
In 2019, Lord Mandelson told an Italian newspaper Mr Trump is “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
But Mr Farage says he is willing to use his connections with Team Trump in the national interest to help foster good US-UK relations – despite his political differences with Sir Keir’s government.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I am no fan of any of the people in the Labour Party, but if it is in the national interest I have always thought I could be a useful asset if they want to use that – but if they don’t, more fool them.”
Mr Farage speaks at a Trump campaign event in Arizona in 2020. Pic: Reuters
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The Reform UK MP said he could help with talks on trade, tariffs, intelligence-sharing and countering terrorism because “a lot of the members of the president’s cabinet are friends of mine, and many of them long-term friends”.
“I know these people, and in terms of trade, in terms of defence and in terms of intelligence, the US is our most important relationship in the world – forget Brussels,” he said.
Mr Farage first met Mr Trump after the Brexit vote in 2016 – and the pair claim to have been friends ever since.
The Clacton-on-Sea MP was seen at several Republican campaign events in the run-up to the 5 November US election.
But he told the Telegraph he fears the government may be “so split… they might not want to take up my offer”.
On appointing the former New Labour minister, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”