Nigel Farage joined Donald Trump on stage in Mississippi on Wednesday evening, and told the supporters of the Republican presidential candidate he could still win despite polls showing Hillary Clinton is ahead.
Speaking to 15,000 people in Jackson, the outgoing Ukip leader stopped short of endorsing Trump directly. However he said he would not vote for Clinton “if she paid me”.
Drawing on his experience of the EU referendum, Farage told the American audience the Brexit campaign “reached those people who had never voted in their lives”.
“Anything is possible if enough decent people are prepared to stand up against the establishment,” he said.
After Farage spoke, Trump endorsed Brexit. “Wow,” he said. “Thank you Nigel, what a job. What a job he did. What a job he did. Against all odds. That was some job that he did. against all odds.”
The Republican added of the EU referendum result: “It’s looking like a very wise decision by the voters.”
Earlier this month Trump hinted he was keen to team up with Farage or other UK Brexit campaigners.
Farage, speaking in the US at a presidential campaign rally for Trump as the election kicks in to high gear, attacked President Obama for intervening in British politics.
“He talked down to us, he treated us as if we were nothing,” he said of Obama. “One of the oldest functioning democracies in the world and here he was, telling us to vote Remain.”
“I could not possibly tell you how you should vote in this election,” Farage said. “But I will say this, if I was an American citizen, I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me. In fact I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if she paid me.”
Trump is currently trailing Clinton badly. In the latest Huffington Post Pollster analysis, Clinton is leading Trump 47.4% to 39.9%.
But Farage told the rally “you can beat the pollsters”. He added: “If you want change in this country you better get your walking boots on, you better get out there campaigning.”
Farage’s association with Trump has not gone down well with some senior members of UKIP, including its sole MP Douglas Carswell, who likened it to Farage’s failed attempt to win a seat in the Kent constituency last year.
Suzanne Evans, who is currently suspended by the party, suggested Farage was trending on Twitter last night “for all the wrong reasons”.