Nigel Farage turns on Donald Trump over Iran war before admitting midterms blunder

The Reform UK leader also accused Mr Trump of breaking one of his biggest promises to voters by becoming embroiled in another prolonged foreign war.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Farage admitted he had got his prediction on the US Midterms wrong after previously dismissing suggestions Republicans were heading for a major defeat.

He said: “I got this wrong. I believe that Musk’s big money and the tech they’d applied and get out the vote would stem the flow of the losses.

“I was wrong and it was a complete wipeout, an absolute shellacking for the Republicans.”

The Grand Old Party suffered a double-whammy defeat this week, with the Democrats taking control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Mr Farage had previously suggested he did not share the consensus that Mr Trump’s party would be “absolutely smashed” at the midterms.

However, the Reform UK leader acknowledged the US President’s decision to pursue military action against Iran had proved politically damaging.

Mr Farage, who first joined Mr Trump on the campaign trail in 2016, said: “One thing about Trump, he always kept his promises. Said to the American people, I will do this. He did it.

“But in this case, he said, no more foreign wars and here we are in month eight of a war with no sign of ending.

“And that, and the resulting fuel prices, in the end has done the damage.”

Mr Farage also expressed concern that Mr Trump could respond to the Republican defeat by escalating military action against Tehran.

“I suppose I worry that the President will continue aggressively attacking Iran,” he said.

“That worries me because that would have even more serious implications for the price of oil, for inflation for the whole western world.”

The Reform leader insisted he had supported the initial military strikes against Iran, arguing that attempts to slow down the country’s nuclear weapons programme were justified.

However, Mr Farage drew a distinction between targeted military action and becoming embroiled in another prolonged conflict.

He said: “I thought we should support the Americans on day one.

“I think the Iranian regime is dreadful. I think doing strikes to slow down their development of nuclear weapons was right. But I’ve never supported endless war.”

He added: “I was against Libya. I was against Iraq. I was sceptical about Afghanistan and so was Trump. And that’s the irony of where we are.”

Mr Farage also said he has spoken to Republican figures who were “very worried” about the implications of the midterm results.

The Reform UK leader cautioned against interpreting the Republican losses as a definitive verdict on the party’s long-term electoral prospects.

He suggested some voters who had previously moved from Democrat-controlled California to Republican-run Texas may have backed Democrats in protest against Mr Trump’s actions, rather than abandoning the Republican Party permanently.

Mr Farage said: “It doesn’t mean you won’t vote Republican in 2028. So we can’t read too much into this long-term.”

The Clacton MP, who has come under fire due to his friendship with Mr Trump, concluded by admitting their alliance was unlikely to boost Reform UK’s electoral prospects in Britain.

“I never, ever thought that my relationship with Trump would politically help me in the UK,” he said. “That’s been obvious from day one that it wouldn’t.”

YouGov found just 13 per cent of Britons identify as supportive of Mr Trump, 67 per cent voicing opposition to the US President.

Meanwhile, 24 per cent of Reform UK voters were anti-Trump and 46 per cent were supportive.