Nigel Farage says Trump presidency makes world ‘better, safer place’

The Independent

Nigel Farage says Trump presidency makes world 'better, safer place'PA

Transcript

00:00Historic, extraordinary few days. He was remarkably calm.

00:05People were whooping and hollering and Donald was remarkably calm.

00:09He's won a massive victory.

00:11I think we can say with some confidence that woke just died in America.

00:15There's not much doubt about that.

00:17He's got a big mandate. He even won the popular vote by a clear majority of five million.

00:22And look, you know, I've been friends with him for a long time,

00:25but the thing to really bear in mind is this is a pro-British American president.

00:32That gives us potentially huge opportunities if we can overcome the difficulties

00:37that the whole of the cabinet have been rude about him.

00:40And so in that sense, you know, you back the right horse really with Trump.

00:43Do you see yourself in a sort of unique position that maybe you could be an intermediary between both administrations?

00:49Well, look, you know, I've got a great relationship with Donald Trump,

00:53but equally I know many of the other senior figures who will be in this administration,

00:57and I've known them for quite a long time.

00:59It seems to me that with a Labour party and a Republican party who disagree on so many things,

01:07who are such fundamentally different people, that I might be useful as an interlocutor,

01:12unofficially, behind the scenes, to try and help mend some of those fences.

01:16If the government choose to use me, I would do that, not because I support the Labour government,

01:21but because I believe in something called the national interest.

01:23Do you have any concerns about what that might mean,

01:26and what the result of that peace process might mean for European security?

01:29Well, if it means huge numbers of young men dying and being wounded, as they currently are,

01:33I think a peace negotiation is a very good idea.

01:36Whether it succeeds or not, actually doing it is the right thing.

01:40And I can't believe, I mean, Boris Johnson just wants the war to go on forever.

01:44And it's not just our money that we're piling.

01:47We're talking here about a million battle casualties.

01:50It's like the Battle of Assam with drones.

01:52It's horrific. It's stalemated. It could go on for years.

01:55Surely, surely, surely, bringing people round the table and trying to sue for peace is the right thing.

02:02It could have gone a lot worse.

02:04How do you think they'll respond this time, given the stakes are so much higher?

02:07I think Donald Trump's presidency, in terms of foreign policy, was a massive success.

02:11The first American president for years not to launch a new war.

02:17The crowning achievement of the Abraham Accords, bringing Israel together with a series of Arab states,

02:22even Saudi Arabia, on the verge of joining it.

02:25And Biden has blown all of that.

02:27And the world is a much less safe place than it was.

02:29I genuinely think we can feel happier and safer with Trump in the White House.

02:34China are less likely to invade Taiwan.

02:38Putin will be dragged to the negotiating table, frankly, whether he wants to or not.

02:44And in terms of the Middle East, Iran will be isolated, as they always should have been.

02:49The whole Iran deal, backed by the European Union, us, Obama, Biden, has been a disaster.

02:56All it's done is to fund Iran by freeing up tens of billions of dollars,

03:01which they've used to fund Hamas, the Houthis and all those other groups.

03:05So, no, no, no, I think Trump being there makes the world a better, safer place.

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