Nigel Farage and Elon Musk’s Bromance Over: What Happened?
Just two weeks ago, Nigel Farage was in Florida, potentially courting a $100 million donation for Reform from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. They found common ground in their support for Donald Trump and were posing for photos at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s country retreat. However, today, they’ve fallen out.
The reason for the rift is Tommy Robinson, a far-right agitator, and an explosion of stories and discussion over the festive period about Muslim grooming gangs in northern British towns. Elon Musk has taken to his platform, X, to say that Nigel Farage doesn’t have what it takes to be the leader of Reform.
Nigel Farage was out and about this morning, saying he doesn’t necessarily agree with Musk on Tommy Robinson. Farage has spent years distancing his parties from Tommy Robinson and the EDL, and doesn’t allow their supporters to join Reform. However, Elon Musk has taken up the issue, incorrectly stating that Tommy Robinson is a political prisoner for “blowing the whistle” on grooming gangs.
Farage has come out and said he will take Musk aside at Trump’s inauguration and tell him he’s wrong on this issue. As a free speech absolutist, Farage defended Musk, saying it was “cool” for Reform that Musk was interested in the party. However, this has blown up in his face, and he can kiss goodbye to a potential $100 million donation.
In the short term, it looks embarrassing for Farage, but in the long run, it might not be as bad for him. If he’s able to say he’s not willing to compromise on his principles and distance himself from Tommy Robinson, it could help him in his ultimate goal of becoming Prime Minister in 2030 or winning hundreds of seats.
However, there’s a lesson to be learned for Farage: be careful who you make friends with. The Trump romance may have gone wrong, and if the Trump friendship goes wrong for Farage as well, it could be a problem.