MILWAUKEE – Nigel Farage has said he may invite his “friend” Donald Trump to visit his Clacton constituency in Essex as he arrived at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.
Mr Farage attended the RNC on Wednesday having flown from London where he attended the State Opening of Parliament by King Charles.
He told i he was pleased to be back in the United States and “there is a plan to meet” with Trump, who just days ago narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Asked if Mr Farage also planned to invite Trump to visit him in his Clacton constituency, Mr Farage laughed. “Not at the moment, but maybe in the future,” he said, adding it could happen at “some point.”
Mr Farage, 60, leader of the Reform UK party which won five seats in the general election, last week took his seat in the House of Commons after winning on his eighth attempt. He was sworn in holding the King James Bible.
Earlier on Wednesday, he said he was coming to “support” Trump at the RNC in Milwaukee.
“Well, I’m coming to support my friend, who’s had a near-death experience in the last few days,” he told the BBC. “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
He also told broadcaster Emily Maitlis that it “was right that I come” to support Trump.
“I have friends, when they’re having a tough time, it’s right to go and support them,” he said.
The Clacton MP said he had been offered a speaking slot at the convention on Wednesday, but declined because he was attending the King’s Speech.
Ahead of his visit, Americans attending the event heaped praise on Mr Farage, with one saying he should lead the UK.
Corinne Cliford, an independent journalist and convention guest from Washington, DC, said she had met the MP for Clacton at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) on the outskirts of the US capital in February and thought he was the “greatest man”.
“Nigel Farage is one of the bravest, strongest, most amazing men alive on planet earth,” she told i. “He is a leader of the free world, just like president Donald Trump.
“I’ve looked in his eyes and he’s real, and he cares about your freedom and my freedom.
“He believes in president Donald Trump … Nigel Farage should be your prime minister.”
Wearing a gold Maga baseball cap, Ms Cliford said she was pleased he and former prime minister Liz Truss were at this week’s convention because “the United States and the UK are joined at the hip”.
Another former prime minister, Boris Johnson, and British comedian Russell Brand are among the other high-profile UK figures attending the convention this week. And delegates and guests at the event appeared pleased to welcome visitors from across the pond.
“Conservatives around the world need to unite,” Ms Cliford added. “We have the same morals and values and ethics.
“We want to make England great again, but we want you to be free.”
Amy Russell, a 50-year-old delegate from Texas, told i she had been “excited” to hear Mr Farage, the former Brexit Party and Ukip leader, was coming to the GOP convention because “we love Brexit”.
“We were actually in England in London when Brexit first came out and there were protests and I think even someone was shot… So I do know it kind of tore the country in half there,” she added.
She said the fact that leading British Conservative figures like he and Ms Truss were in the US for the convention, where Trump officially become the Republican nominee for November’s election, demonstrated the former president’s wide-reaching influence.
“I think the world recognises that Donald Trump can come to the table and play this game of world politics … if they’re not invited, I see them showing up anyway because they realise how important it is to have him on their team and vice versa.”
Greg Marsh, a 61-year-old delegate from Maine, said Mr Farage “kind of reminds me of the British version of Donald Trump who puts his people first in their best interests”.
“I know about his role in Brexit and I would love to hear him speak,” he added.
He said he hoped the presence of Ms Truss and Mr Farage at the RNC would “help to further strengthen ties between the two nations both economically, militarily, and put us together on the world stage”.
“I think the world is a better place when we are united in our common goals.”
Randall Dunning, a 66-year-old delegate from Texas wearing a white cowboy hat, agreed, saying Mr Farage’s attendance showed “there are people like Trump in other countries that are starting to say, hey, wait a minute, you know, our country needs to do the same thing where we’re putting our national interests first, not these global interests”.
Mr Farage first sought a parliamentary seat as far back as 30 years ago – the 1994 by-election in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
When he took his oath, he said: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty The King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”
He said he had no “absolutely no enthusiasm” for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and that his party would serve as the “opposition around the country”.