Trump wades into Brexit row, backs Farage for negotiation

Bloomberg

US 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 UK 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 on Monday.
“I like Nigel a lot,” Trump said. “He has a lot to offer.”
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 replace May, praising the favourite Boris Johnson. The president said 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 UK’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 October 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 UK government would like to avoid a meeting between Trump and Farage, though the decision rests with the US 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 authorising US intelligence agencies to share sensitive secrets.
A Corbyn government must “get along” with the US. if it wants to benefit from the country’s military and intelligence support, he said.