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Trump Urges U.K. to Send Farage as Brexit Negotiator, Sunday Times Says

Trump Urges U.K. to Send Farage as Brexit Negotiator, Sunday Times Says

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Britain to name Nigel Farage, a flamboyant and popular advocate for leaving the European Union, to negotiate a final Brexit agreement, the Sunday Times reported.

Trump said the U.K. should refuse to pay the 39 billion-pound ($49 billion) settlement to cover commitments to the EU and walk away unless it gets “a fair deal,” the Times said, citing an interview with the president before he departs for a three-day visit beginning Monday.

“I like Nigel a lot,” Trump said. “He has a lot to offer.”

Trump Urges U.K. to Send Farage as Brexit Negotiator, Sunday Times Says

Trump, who will meet with Queen Elizabeth and soon-to-depart Prime Minister Theresa May, has already broken political protocol by weighing into the contest to to replace May, praising the favorite Boris Johnson. The president said last week that he could meet both Johnson and Farage during his visit.

Trump said Farage, who founded the Brexit Party that was the big winner in last month’s European Parliament elections, has earned his place and it was “a mistake” for the Conservative-led government to exclude him from a role with Brussels.

“He is a very smart person,” Trump said. “They won’t bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just haven’t figured that out yet.”

Farage Meeting

Farage, who separately told the U.K.’s Daily Express newspaper that May’s office had banned him from meeting Trump, may end up seeing the president. Some of the president’s officials are working to set up a meeting with him, which could take place on Tuesday, the person said, adding that nothing has been formally scheduled.

Separately, Tory leadership candidate Michael Gove told colleagues he is ready to delay Brexit until next year, rather than leave by the Oct. 31 deadline without a deal, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing a person close to the environment secretary.

Trump and Farage share an anti-globalist stance, a populist turn of phrase and recent electoral success, and they have championed each other.

May is stepping down on June 7 after failing to win parliamentary support for her withdrawal agreement with the EU. Officials in Brussels have repeatedly said the agreement won’t be renegotiated.

The U.K. government would like to avoid a meeting between Trump and Farage, though the decision rests with the U.S. leader, the Express said, citing a government source it didn’t identify. Farage’s campaign against EU membership was a crucial factor in shifting the political debate in the years before the Brexit vote in 2016.

If opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn comes to power, Trump said he would have to get to know him before authorizing U.S. intelligence agencies to share sensitive secrets. A Corbyn government must “get along” with the U.S. if it wants to benefit from the country’s military and intelligence support, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net;Jim Silver in New York at jsilver@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.