Nigel Farage, the mastermind behind the successful Brexit movement to get the UK out of the European Union, showed his support to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday.
The outgoing UKIP leader appeared next to Trump before a cheering crowd in Jackson, Mississippi, and urged them to “get your walking boots on” and show their support for the Republican nominee in the presidential race.
It would seem that, through this appearance at the rally, the British politician aimed to draw some connections between the Brexit campaign and Trump’s candidacy in the United States, saying that the presidential hopeful represented the same type of anti-establishment movement that he led in his own country and that the Republican could restore the “American independence.”
And there are indeed similarities between their strategies, as Farage based his Brexit campaign on opposition to mass immigration and Trump is known for his stance against illegal immigration, though now he has a more moderate view on this and says he is willing to work with those who abide by US laws.
Farage did not personally endorse Trump in his speech, but mentioned that “I will say this: if I was an American citizen, I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me!” And in the eyes of many, this is as good as an endorsement.
Some Twitter messages that popped up after the Mississippi rally showed that Farage’s association with Trump did not go down well with some senior members of UKIP, who said he drew social media’s attention “for all the wrong reasons.”
