Donald Trump unleashed a new populist messenger on Wednesday night who declared Americans can defeat the establishment and the media just as the British people did in voting to leave the European Union.
The messenger was Nigel Farage, the former head of the United Kingdom Independence Party and leader of the Brexit movement. On June 23, U.K. voters followed Farage and dissident Tory politicians and defied a bevy of polls that forecast a victory for those eager to keep England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in the EU.
Trump introduced Farage at rally in Jackson, Mississippi. And Farage delivered a crowd-pleasing speech of pure populism. He praised the average U.K. citizens—including those had never voted before—for prevailing over a juggernaut of big companies, the International Monetary Fund, and Prime Minister David Cameron. He said the success of anti-EU voters was a model for what can be achieved by a middle- and working-class people in America.
Farage took a swipe at President Obama for visiting England and urging voters to keep their country in the EU member. Since he had criticized Obama as an unwelcome interloper, Farage said it would be improper for him, as a foreigner, to tell Americans how to vote in the presidential election.
But if he were an American citizen, Farage said, "I wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me." This prompted a burst of applause. "In fact, I wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if she paid me."
Get the Exclusive
04.28.2024