UK politician Nigel Farage told CNN Thursday he’d like to act as a “middle man” to improve relations between the British government and US President-elect Donald Trump after a bumpy start.
But he said he had no plans for a second face-to-face meeting with Trump while on a trip to the United States in the next few days, despite reports to the contrary.
Trump caused diplomatic ripples Tuesday when he tweeted that Farage would “do a great job” as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.
And Farage, who’s interim leader of the right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the figurehead of the Brexit movement, was the first UK politician to meet with Trump post-victory when he spent time with him at Trump Tower 11 days ago.
By contrast, Trump called 11 other world leaders before placing a call to Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May following his election win, suggesting that the two countries’ much vaunted “special relationship” might be a little rocky.
Farage: Fences to be mended
Speaking to CNN’s Carol Costello, Farage said there were “some fences that need to be mended” after “nearly the entire British government said derogatory things about Donald Trump and his team” during the US presidential campaign.
“I would like to try to act as a little bit of a middle man to try and mend some of this, so we can get on with some really important work,” he said.
But Farage said it was up to the British government whether it wanted him to take on that kind of liaison role.
Judging by the government’s frosty response to Trump’s tweet proposing Farage for the role of ambassador, the invitation may not come soon.
A spokesman for May’s office blocked the idea, telling CNN the UK appoints its own ambassadors and that the position was filled.
There’s no doubt Trump’s expression of a preference for UK ambassador to Washington was a startling break with diplomatic protocol. It was also particularly awkward for the UK as Farage has long been a thorn in the side of May’s Conservative party.
Farage, however, suggested the business world could see the advantages of building on the relationship he’s forged with Trump and his team, including appearing alongside Trump on the campaign trail in Mississippi.
“I genuinely think and believe that a closer relationship between our two countries will be mutually beneficial to us and if I can do anything to cement this relationship, I will,” he said.