DONALD Trump loyalist Nigel Farage said the presidential candidate has a chance to bridge the political gap dividing America with his speech at the Republican National Convention.
The U.S. Sun caught up with the British fireband on Thursday as he and thousands of GOP constituents await Trump‘s acceptance speech on the final night of the four-day conference.
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Farage, 60, who was elected as an English MP for the first time on July 5, arrived in Milwaukee, the city hosting the RNC, on Wednesday afternoon and said he’s looking forward to his friend’s passionate speech.
“This is a very emotional time for him [Trump], I mean, he always died. He probably should’ve died. He was lucky as anything, I mean, he just moved his head at that moment,” Farage told The U.S. Sun about the attempted assassination against Trump.
“Tonight’s speech is going to be fascinating,” the Clacton MP added before recalling his near-death experience in May 2010.
On May 6, 2010, Farage was traveling onboard a two-seater aircraft when the chopper crashed at the Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield near Brackley in England.
“I went through a near-death experience 15 years ago. I was on an aircraft that crashed to the ground, and I thought those last couple of minutes were the end,” Farage recalled.
“I was badly broken, and I remember a couple of weeks afterward, you just feel, you look at the world and feel different.
“So, we’re going to see a different kind of speech, I think tonight, from Donald Trump.”
Farage elaborated that maybe the American public needs to see Trump’s new emotional side.
“That may not be a bad thing because the left-right divisions in America are horrible,” he said.
“The polarity in politics, the language is horrible.
“If Trump is able to emerge from this and say, ‘Hey, guys, we can disagree, but let’s do it like our parents used to do it after the war. Let’s do it in a way where we respect the rights of others that have different opinions.
“That would be a good thing, not just for him but for the country.
“You can’t heal a divide overnight, but what you can encourage is a culture of really strong, healthy debate, but having respect for the other person.”
Farage proceeded to blame commentary against Trump, echoing the cries of GOP lawmakers Marjorie Taylor Green and new vice president-elect JD Vance.
“There’s too much of American mainstream media who frankly have allowed the language of genuine hate to be propagated against Donald Trump, which I believe leads directly to what happened to that young shooter on that roof the other day,” Farage said.
“It’s happened in American comedy programs. It’s happened on a lot of mainstream TV.
“It’s not that we disagree with Donald Trump, but then he’s Hitler. This has all got to stop,. Otherwise, goodness knows where we finish up.”
Earlier on Thursday, Farage also told The Sun in a separate interview that he believes Trump is the only one who can stop Putin.
And he laid out exactly how Trump’s strength may finally bring the Russian dictator to heel.
He suggested threatening Putin with Ukraine’s potential NATO membership would force him to back down.
He said “aggressive move” might be the only thing he “fears.”
Nigel Farage’s life and career
NIGEL Farage is best known for his outspoken opinions and anti-EU championing of Brexit.
Farage was born in Kent and attended the private Dulwich College.
After leaving the famous private school, he decided to skip university and started working in the City – London’s finance district – in 1982.
Despite supporting the Conservatives since school, he left the party after John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty.
He became a founding member of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which campaigned to leave the European Union, in 1993.
Farage did get elected to the European Parliament in 1999, and stayed there until 2020.
After being made leader of UKIP in 2006, Farage declared he wanted to “regain control” of the UK’s borders and immigration and has called for a points-based visa system and time-limited work permits.
He resigned as UKIP leader to stand in the 2010 general election.
But on the day of the 2010 UK general election he survived a plane crash and spent two days in hospital.
In 2014, Farage led UKIP to the largest share of the vote in the European election.
He stood down from UKIP in 2019 and launched the Brexit Party.
In 2021, he resigned as leader of Reform UK – the renamed Brexit Party.
The UK’s most prominent Brexiteer has long been a friend and ally of former US President Donald Trump, and has been seen interviewing him and supporting him at rallies.
He has said he would happily serve as Britain’s ambassador under a Trump presidency.
Farage has four children – two sons with his ex-wife and two daughters with Kirsten Mehr, a German national he reportedly met in 1996.
Outside of politics the former UKIP leader has also appeared on hit ITV show I’m A Celebrity last year
Farage added that Trump was a “much bigger player” on the world stage than “anybody thought he would be”.
“He believes that peace comes through strength.
“So he’s not going to leave Zelensky with nothing ahead of an attempted negotiation. Of course, he is not.
“I actually think there’s one quite strong card that we have against Putin, which is actually NATO membership.
“We say to Putin that you’ve got to give up ground, otherwise, Ukraine is going to join NATO.
“Now, that will be a very aggressive act, but it might be the one thing that Putin actually fears.”
Farage also reiterated his claim the war in Ukraine would have not happened if Trump had been in the White House.
On possible peace negotiations, he said: “I can’t predict whether a peace negotiation will be successful or not.
“All I can say is that all wars ended in one of two ways. One is a negotiated peace settlement. The other is annihilation.”
Farage and Trump are known to be friends and have campaigned together, with Farage seen interviewing Trump and at rallies.
The ex-US president wished the Brexit campaigner a happy 60th birthday.
In a video message played at Farage’s party on April 3, Trump said: “You’re a historic figure as a prophetic leader, and I know that the people of the UK are grateful for your patriotism and service.
“In fact. I’m very much looking forward to watching what your next move is going to be, it’s going to be an interesting one.”
Farage has previously said he would happily serve as Britain’s ambassador to the US under a Trump presidency.
Trump also congratulated Farage on winning his first ever seat – saying “Nigel loves his country”.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
He said: “Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success.
Posting on Twitter, Trump added: “Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT.”
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Republican National Convention Roundup
Republican voters and lawmakers stood united as they gathered at the Republican National Convention to formally announce Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate.
Day one of the RNC:
- Over 2,000 Republican delegates descended onto Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum the week of July 15, 2024, to officially recognize Donald Trump as their presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
- GOP representatives of each state pledged their delegates to Trump.
- As delegates were voting, Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he chose Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate for the 2024 election.
- Vance, 39, who was present at the conference, took the stage after the roll call and received a standing ovation from his GOP constituents.
- Later that evening, Trump made his first public appearance since surviving an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennslyvania, on July 13, 2024.
- An emotional Trump was met with massive applause as he made his way to the stage to join his vice president nominee, sons Don. Jr. and Eric, and fellow Republicans.
- Trump was pictured wearing a bandage on his right ear after a bullet from an AR-15-style rifle tore a piece of his ear days prior.
Day two of the RNC:
- The Republican Party stood united during day two of the RNC, praising their presidential candidate with support and admiration.
- GOP leaders praised law enforcement, border security, and public safety while ripping the Biden administration.
- Trump’s most prominent primary challengers, including Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, aligned with the former president’s policies while seemingly rescinding their previous statements about Trump.
- “I haven’t always agreed with Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree,” Haley said, adding that Trump asked her to speak at the conference.
- “President Trump asked me to speak at this convention in the name of unity. It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept.”
- Florida Governor DeSantis, who Trump has previously called Ron DeSanctimonious, expressed full support for the former president.
- “Donald Trump has been demonized, he’s been sued, he’s been prosecuted, and he’s almost lost his life. We cannot let him down, and we cannot let America down,” DeSantis said.
- The Florida governor and former presidential candidate added, “We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America can not afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s presidency.”
- Other GOP heavyweights such as Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Sara Huckabee Sanders, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ben Carson pledged their support for Trump.
Day three of the RNC:
- The Republican National Convention was introduced to Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, who delivered a passionate speech to attendees.
- A lively crowd welcomed Vance with applause and a chant of “JD, JD.”
- “We need a leader who is not in the pocket of big business but answers to the working man, union and nonunion alike,” Vance said about Trump.
- “A leader who won’t sell out to multinational corporations but will stand up for American companies and American industry.”
- Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, briefly addressed the RNC crowd during night three of the four-day event.
