Donald Trump has described Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage as “friends” as he revealed he could meet both politicians during his UK state visit next week.
Speaking to Bloomberg, the US president said they were “very good guys” and he has “a lot of respect for both of those men”.
Trump will be in London next week with first lady Melania Trump. He will attend a state banquet with the Queen and hold a business breakfast with outgoing prime minister Theresa May.
Asked if he would also meet Brexit Party leader Farage and Tory leadership frontrunner Johnson, he described the two men as “big powers over there” and said: “I may.”
He went on to say: “Nigel Farage is a friend of mine. Boris is a friend of mine.
“They’re two very good guys, very interesting people.”
He praised the Brexit Party’s resounding success in Sunday’s elections to the European Parliament, when 29 MEPs were elected to Labour’s ten and the Tories’ four.
Trump said: “Nigel has had a very big victory. He’s picked up 32% of the vote, starting from nothing.
“And I think they’re big powers over there. I think they’ve done a good job.”
Trump was also asked if he would officially endorse both politicians, he said: “I like them, they’re friends of mine but I haven’t thought about supporting them. Maybe it isn’t my business to support people, but I have a lot of respect for both of those men.”
The divisive president will be greeted by huge protests when he arrives on British soil on Monday, with as many as one million expected to flood the capital.
His three-day visit comes in the wake of May’s resignation after her Brexit deal was three times rejected in parliament and she lost the support of her Cabinet.
Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to replace May as PM. But the former foreign secretary faces competition from a large number of other candidates, including Sajid Javid, Esther McVey, Jeremy Hunt and fellow hardline Brexiteer Dominic Raab.
It is the second time Trump has lavished praise on Johnson. During his 2018 visit, Trump said he had been “very, very nice to me, very supportive”, frustrating May allies at the time.
In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, Farage, then leader of Ukip, travelled to meet the president at Trump Tower in Manhattan.