Three weeks after a very public rupture, populist British politician Nigel Farage said Wednesday that his relationship with Elon Musk was “nice” and that the two men had spoken only last week.
Mr Farage, in a brief interview with the New York Times, said that Mr Musk, the richest man in the world, remained open to make a large enough donation to the UK reform, the rebellion party. Mr Musk has already shown a desire to influence the United Kingdom policy, even seeking the prison of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The prospect of a huge donation from the technological tycoon of many billionaires has led some politicians to propose new restrictions on foreign donations.
Mr Farage called Mr Musk a “heroic figure” and said the discussions about a donation were “just for the one who had a suitable vehicle”. Foreign donations are allowed in Britain, but they must be made through a company registered in the United Kingdom.
“Nothing closes as much as I know,” Mr Farage said a day after a fund that said it brought more than £ 1m ($ 1.25 million), great money in British politics.
Mr Musk did not respond on Wednesday to a message looking for comments sent by email.
Mr Musk seemed ready to influence British policy on behalf of the reform, a party with a populist platform that closely reflects Mr Trump. But Mr Musk seemed to wake up Mr Farage abruptly at the beginning of the month, stating in the social media, “the reform party needs a new leader”.
The Rift appeared to have passed by Mr Musk’s request to be released from the Tommy Robinson prison, where he is held for contempt for the court. Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has multiple criminal convictions, including the attack and fraud, as well as history of Islamophobic statements.
“I know that many Americans see him as a great champion of freedom of speech, but I just don’t see him as appropriate for our party,” Mr Farage said. “And I’m not someone who beats very easily.”
But he put it as a mere disagreement. “We have very similar goals in some areas, slightly different emphasis on others,” he said, noting that in previous talks, Mr Musk had shared lessons from Mr Trump’s winning campaign in the Swing states.
“There is a good one of many that we have learned from this we will apply in the coming years,” Mr Farage said.
In addition to Mr Musk’s deep pockets, Mr Farage said he was thinking of hitting other Americans who gave Mr Trump. During his visits to Mr Trump’s Mar-A-A-Lago resort, Mr Farage said he had been approached by a “number of people” saying: “We want to give you money! We want to give you money!”
It was careful to say that the UK reform would not accept money from US citizens directly – only by those who have “active commercial companies of the United Kingdom”. This could include the fairly important and rich British homogeneous community in the United States, which said the reform plans to target.
Revelations are likely to cause a new concern between the British government and the Conservative Party, which are already anxious about the rapid rise of reform from the margin of national policy in a party that beats on the heels of these two dominant parties.
The reform is committed to diminishing “wasteful” government spending, increasing the military budget, abandon the basic climate goals, and push Britain to oil and gas. And he wants to reject initiatives for diversity, equality and integration. Mr Farage, like Mr Trump, took a hard line for immigration and has gathered against “awakened” ideology. The reform has promised to freeze immigration.
Mr Farage was exultaient against the Gala of millions of dollars of the reform on Tuesday night. “This sounds like peanuts in an American audience, but in a fairly new British political party, that’s a very good night,” he said.
“The dinner was about pumping money, but it is also for expanding our influence,” he added.
