Nigel Farage fails to meet Trump after flying to Mar-a-Lago
Nigel Farage was unable to meet Donald Trump despite flying to Florida to dine at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
The reform UK leader told an audience at an event in Westminster on Thursday night that he would be “dining at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night” where Sir Keir Starmer would “amplify the message” on the beleaguered Chagos Islands deal, leading to speculation he would be dining with the US president.
But in a humiliating development, he flew nearly 4,500 miles and never met Mr. Trump during his visit.
Finance Times Mr Farage reportedly did not even receive a formal invitation to meet the American president, but was merely invited to Mar-a-Lago by a member of the club.
Instead, sources said: Finance Times Mr Farage was hoping to catch Mr Trump for a chat as the President was traveling to Mar-a-Lago that day.
But Mr. Trump remained in Doral, leaving Mr. Farage at Mar-a-Lago, more than an hour’s drive away, and at a loose end, according to the newspaper.
The Clacton MP’s failure to secure a meeting with the American leader is the latest indication that the famously close relationship between the two politicians has cooled. The pair had bonded before and after 2016, when Mr Trump’s first term began and the UK voted for Brexit.
But a representative for Mr Farage said: Independent He never planned to meet with Mr. Trump during his visit and never said he planned to.
Mr Trump has dramatically pushed back on Sir Keir’s support for the controversial Chagos Islands deal in recent weeks, at one point describing it as an act of “gross stupidity”.
Ministers have since said discussions about handing over the islands to Mauritius are ongoing, with the government insisting the deal is necessary to secure the future of the key UK-US Diego Garcia military base.
Mr Farage, who has long opposed the Chagos deal and described it as a “surrender” agreement, said at an event in Westminster on Thursday that he would discuss the issue at Mr Trump’s Florida mansion.
“We think this is the central plank of the government’s foreign policy and we are pushing them back,” Mr Farage said, according to GB News..
“President Trump has almost got the deal, but I’ll have dinner at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night and we’ll amplify the message.”
The Reform UK leader condemned the deal as the “worst deal in history” and an “absolute betrayal”.
He added: “We’ve got to keep fighting, we’ve got to keep the pressure up, we’ve got to keep our foot off this pedal, but for the first time in this fight… this feels like more than winnable.”
