NEW YORK: Former US president Donald Trump celebrated the election of fellow populist Nigel Farage to Britain’s parliament on Friday, neglecting to mention the new prime minister, Keir Starmer.
Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party won the third largest vote haul, but under Britain’s electoral system it took just four seats while Starmer’s Labour party swept into office with a landslide.
“Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Farage is a long-standing ally of Trump, who has dubbed the divorced father-of-four “Mr Brexit” and previously said the British populist would have done a “great job” as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
Farage is a champion of Brexit who was elected to parliament on his eighth attempt and has made no secret of his desire to take over the now-main opposition Conservative party, which was trounced at the polls by Labour.
“There is a massive gap on the center-right of British politics and my job is to fill it,” he said after a comfortable win in Clacton, eastern England.
The result bucks a rightward trend among Britain’s closest allies, with the far-right National Rally in France eyeing power and Trump looking set for a return in the United States.
Farage’s win will likely embolden the attention-grabbing populist figurehead in his long-term aim of staging a “takeover” of the Conservatives.
Millions of their voters appeared to have already switched their support to Reform, handing the Tories one of their worst-ever results.
An initial exit poll had caused a stir Thursday night after predicting Reform would secure 13 seats — far exceeding forecasts in the latter stages of the campaign that it would win just a handful of seats.
Trump congratulates UK’s Farage, ignores PM Starmer
https://arab.news/ymrwp
Trump congratulates UK’s Farage, ignores PM Starmer
- Farage is a long-standing ally of Trump
- Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party won the third largest vote haul
Trump seeks to strike back in crucial State of the Union
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will try to sell voters on the record of his first year back in power during his State of the Union address Tuesday, despite suffering a series of stinging blows ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.
After a year of breakneck activity that has stunned America and the world, the 79-year-old Republican’s flagship speech to Congress — which he has largely sidelined — comes at a tense time.
Trump is fuming over a string of recent setbacks, including dismal approval ratings and the Supreme Court striking down his signature tariffs, a cornerstone of his economic agenda.
Adding to the drama, Trump will be speaking right in front of the same justices — including two of his own appointees — whom he branded “fools” over the stunning ruling.
If Democrats win back either the House or Senate in November, it could paralyze the rest of Trump’s second term — and put him at the risk of a possible third impeachment.
But Trump shows no signs of backing down in a speech that is likely to mix a defense of his first year with a launching pad for the midterms.
“It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
The president also dismissed “fake” polls including a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published on Sunday showing his approval rating at just 39 percent.
Democrat protests
Democrats are lining up responses including boycotts and silent protests for the address — mandated by the US Constitution which says that the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.”
Tina Smith, a Democratic senator from Minnesota, said she would skip it because Trump uses his speeches to “spread lies — not to mention they’re long and boring.”
The speech comes after a year in which Trump has asserted unprecedented executive power, targeted opponents and slapped his name on buildings at home, while upending the world order abroad.
Trump will be keen to tout what his administration says is its success on immigration, especially on cutting crossings over the Mexican border.
But polls show that while voters like his overall stance on immigration, they don’t like the harsh deportation raids in which two US citizens were shot dead in January.
On the economy, he will be selling what he claims is success in cutting inflation and restoring what he calls a “Golden Age” of America.
But billionaire Trump also faces a challenge to convince voters who are still worried about the cost of living — which many blame on the tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down.
Iran tensions
The world will meanwhile be watching for hints from Trump about possible military action against Iran, with a huge US military build-up pressing Tehran to make a nuclear deal.
The key speech has been used to advance foreign policy before — former president George W. Bush fashioned his 2003 State of the Union speech, for instance, to make the case for war with Iraq.
Adding to the interest will be the guests that both Republicans and Democrats bring to watch the address from the gallery, part of a long tradition.
