Nigel Farage heaps praise on Donald Trump at Arizona rally

Nigel Farage has spoken at a Donald Trump rally to lend support to the Republican’s re-election campaign, showering the US president with praise and describing him as the “most resilient and brave person” he had ever met.

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Taking to the stage in front of a crowd of voters in Arizona, the former Ukip leader said: “Four years ago I was honoured to come to America to bring the Brexit message, the message that you can beat the establishment, and that is what Donald Trump did – he beat the pollsters, he beat the media, he beat all the predictions, and here’s the worst bit, they’ve never forgiven him for it.”

Farage praised Trump for withstanding a “barrage” of events over his four-year term, including his impeachment and the revelations that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, saying: “This is the single most resilient and brave person I have ever met in my life.”

He wrapped up his speech by telling the crowd they were voting for “the only current leader in the free world who has the guts to stand up for the nation state, to fight for patriotism, to fight against globalism”, in a veiled dig at the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson.

Farage added that they were also voting for “decency and plain speaking”.

When he called him up on stage, Trump described Farage, famous for his longtime activism to get Britain out of the European Union, as “one of the most powerful men in Europe”. “He’s a very non-controversial person, right?” Trump joked. “Very shy.”

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Taking the microphone, the former member of the European parliament responded to Trump that he was neither – not “compared to you”.

Farage previously spoke at a Trump rally during the 2016 US presidential election, during which the pair drew comparisons between the surprise result of that year’s Brexit referendum and Trump’s election campaign, with Trump saying his presidency would bring about “American independence”.

Arizona has emerged as a key battleground state in the 3 November election, in which a record 70m votes have already been cast.