A leader of the Brexit movement in the United Kingdom will come to the United States to help coach Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the next presidential debate, reports say.
The Guardian reported Nigel Farage, a former leader of the U.K. Independence Party who led the movement for Great Britain to leave the EU, is in the U.S. to help Donald Trump prepare for the next presidential debate. Farage denied the report on Twitter Saturday morning, saying, “Contrary to press reports, I am in the United Kingdom.”
The Guardian reported this could be a sign Trump is serious about performing better in next week’s debate. The real estate mogul has blamed microphone issues for his disappointing performance in the first debate.
Farage is viewed as a “skilled orator and debater,” the newspaper reported. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron refused to debate him over the Brexit campaign in the days leading up to the vote, and a debate with a former deputy prime minister over the issue was said to swing undecided to the Leave campaign, according to the Guardian.
The former UKIP leader has previously hit the campaign trail with the Republican nominee, who has taken to calling himself “Mr. Brexit” by touting what he says is his prediction that the U.K. would leave the EU. When asked by reporters what he felt the British should do in the vote, Trump actually demurred and said he didn’t know enough about the issue.
Farage would be a surprising addition to the Trump debate preparation team, which reports have indicated this week was a haphazard and scattered squad led by former Fox News leader Roger Ailes. Campaign sources appeared in the media this week criticizing Trump for not preparing well enough for the debate, though the nominee took to Twitter to deny those reports.
However, in the months since the vote, Trump has cast his candidacy in the same light as the Brexit campaign. He has lauded voters who cast their ballot to leave the EU, saying that they “took their country back” and that Americans are ready to do the same by voting for him.
