Nigel Farage says Donald Trump's 'go back' comment was 'genius'
The Brexit Party leader says Donald Trump is a "remarkably effective operator" who "does things his way".
Saturday 3 August 2019 17:04, UK
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has described Donald Trump's "go back" comments, aimed at four Democrat congresswomen, as "genius".
The president has been accused of racism after that the four women should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" if they do not like what is happening in America.
The politicians - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who are referred to as "the Squad" - are all US citizens, and only Ms Omar, from Somalia, was born outside the country.
Asked about Mr Trump's controversial comments in an interview with The Times, Mr Farage said: "I know, I know. I thought: 'Dear, oh dear, oh dear.'
"You realise, 48 hours on, it was genius because what's happened is the Democrats gather round the Squad, which allows him to say: 'Oh look, the Squad are the centre of the Democratic Party.' He's remarkably good at what he does."
Mr Farage admitted that Mr Trump "does things his way", adding that the US president is "a remarkably effective operator".
The two met during the president's visit to the UK in June, and Mr Farage was the first British politician to meet Mr Trump following his election victory in 2016.
The president had also previously said he considers Mr Farage a "friend".
During the Conservative Party leadership race, now Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticised Mr Trump's comments, but declined to condemn the remarks as racist.
However, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was unequivocal that they were racist.
The president's tweets ignited a political scandal in the US, prompting the Democratic-led House of Representatives to vote to condemn his comments.
Undeterred, Mr Trump launched a blistering critique of Ms Omar during a rally in North Carolina, pausing when the crowd erupted into chants of "send her back".
The president said the next day that he did not agree with the chants.
After initial hesitation, a number of Republicans have openly criticised the president and called him out on his tweets.
Mr Trump later added more fuel to the fire, saying he does not believe the four congresswomen are "".