Nigel Farage has taken an unprecedented swipe at his friend Donald Trump, comparing the President’s tariffs to Liz Truss’s mini-Budget.
The Reform UK leader said Trump had attempted to do “too much too soon” – and vowed he had “never agreed” with the Commander-in-Chief’s decision to slap import taxes on trade partners around the world.
Asked whether he thought Trump would emerge as a “chump or champion” if and when his trade war with China comes to an end, Farage told LBC: “Remains to be seen. I’ve never agreed with the tariff policy.
“I do understand that China poses an existential threat to the West economically and perhaps even, ultimately, in different ways as well.”
Politics LIVE: Nigel Farage takes unexpected swipe at Donald Trump as he attacks President’s tariff plan
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However, he warned: “I think Trump did too much too soon, rather like Liz Truss did a couple of years ago.
“I’ve never in my life before seen stock markets fall quickly and bond markets fall at the same time,”
Farage said: “There’s little doubt that Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary – who’s also a friend of mine, played a decisive role in saying, whoa, we’ve got to ease back on this.
“As for slugging it out with China… Who’s going to win? right now, I just don’t know.”
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Sir Ed Davey has called for a global summit
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Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to host a virtual summit of world leaders this weekend.
The Kingston and Surbiton MP said that “now was not the time for complacency” after Trump put a 90 day pause on higher tariffs against most countries.
Davey said: “Donald Trump’s nonsensical economic policies have thrown the world economy into crisis and put thousands of British jobs at risk. Now is not the time for complacency.
“The Prime Minister should show the White House that we have alternatives by hosting a summit of world leaders and building an economic coalition of the willing. Both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage want the UK to go cap in hand to Trump and beg him for a trade deal. That is not the way to stand up for Britain or our national interest.”
Earlier today, Beijing increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent on Friday, hitting back against Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods and raising the stakes in the global trade war.
China’s retaliation intensified the economic turmoil unleashed by Trump’s tariffs, which has seen markets tumbling and foreign leaders puzzling how to respond to the biggest disruption to the world trade order in decades.
US markets opened lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100.2 points at the open, while the S&P 500 fell 12.5 points at the bell.
“Recession risk is much, much higher now than it was a couple weeks ago,” said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson
