U.S. President Donald Trump is due to make an official State Visit to the United Kingdom next week, and has teased he “may” meet with prominent non-government figures Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson while he is in the country.
Speaking to press outside the White House on Thursday, the President was asked whether he would take time to meet with prominent British political leaders Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, rivals to Prime Minister Theresa May and individuals she may have wished to keep the President away from. Trump responded “maybe”, before heavily praising both individuals.
While the British government has been working to organise the visit for the President since 2017, it now transpires Trump will depart the country just one day before British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to relinquish her position as leader of the governing Conservative Party and hence her days as leader of the nation.
The timing of May’s departure is conspicuous, and doubtless down in part down to the Conservative Party which she leads being comprehensively defeated at this month’s European Parliament elections by the Brexit Party which Nigel Farage leads.
Boris Johnson, on the other hand, comes from the prime minister’s own party but is presently thought to be the favourite to replace her in the coming leadership race which will officially begin as President Trump leaves London.
Johnson was previously a senior minister in May’s government but resigned in protest over her weak handling of Brexit.
Since the Trump State Visit — which is officially hosted by Her Majesty the Queen, rather than the government as would be the case in a working visit — speculation has been rife over whether the President would take time to meet with his “friend” Nigel Farage. The pair are understood to have kept in contact since Trump entered the White House, and was the first British politician to meet with the President after he won the 2016 election — trumping the British government.
Unconfirmed reports suggested President Trump’s team specifically requested that Mr Farage be invited to a banquet thrown by the Queen that Trump will attend next week. The British government is understood to be so opposed to President Trump being allowed to meet Mr Farage, that they have established a “red line” to prevent it going ahead.
Despite the effort to keep the pair apart, President Trump has clearly reacted to Monday’s election results for Farage’s Brexit Party with great interest. Breitbart White House correspondent Charlie Spiering reported on the praise that President Trump gave to Brexit leader Farage Thursday, when he said: “Nigel just had a big victory, got 32 percent of the vote, starting from nothing… Nigel Farage is a friend of mine, Boris is a friend of mine, they’re two very good guys, very interesting people.”
President Trump is expected to arrive in the United Kingdom on Monday and to leave on Wednesday when he will travel to continental Europe to attend D-Day anniversary commemoration events.
Oliver JJ Lane is the editor of Breitbart London — Follow him on Twitter and Facebook
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