Criticism after the election
Democrats captured both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 midterms, winning even Republican strongholds such as Texas and Kansas, according to The Independent's political editor David Maddox.
Speaking in London on November 5, Farage called the outcome a "complete wipeout" and "an absolute shellacking." BBC News and POLITICO reported that he described Trump's decision to launch the Iran war as "bizarre" and said he feared the president would "continue aggressively attacking Iran" after losing Congress. Farage said the two had not spoken since the election.
His remarks came as Reform introduced its first defense spokesperson, former Royal Air Force Wing Commander Angus MacIntyre. MacIntyre promised that a Reform government would end prosecutions of serving military personnel and veterans within its first 100 days.
Trump had acknowledged on November 3 that the Iran war and the associated rise in oil prices partly explained Republicans' poor results, BBC News reported. He nevertheless said he did not regret the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran. Before the election, he had warned that the two countries could resume all-out war after the midterms unless an agreement to end the conflict was reached with Iran.
Farage's earlier support for the war
Farage's criticism contrasts with the position he took on February 26. As an Independent opinion column noted, he had urged Britain's prime minister to allow the use of British military bases and "back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran".
The column used a satirical account of nine overlapping stages of separation to examine Farage's retreat from a politician he had spent more than a decade emulating and defending. It argued that abandoning Trump's example would leave Farage facing questions about his own political identity.
It also pointed to an earlier sign of strain: a January report in The Sunday Times quoting a White House source as saying, "Trump has totally lost faith with Farage. He doesn't believe he's for real."
The column placed Farage's Iran stance alongside other efforts to borrow from US politics. In 2025, he sent a "UK DOGE" unit into Kent County Council, modeled on Elon Musk's Washington cost-cutting operation. Earlier in 2026, he promised an ICE-style program of "mass deportations" if elected. The columnist portrayed those commitments as potential embarrassments as Farage tried to distance himself from Trump.
Reform's Republican ties and falling support
Reform's distancing did not amount to abandoning its Republican contacts. An anonymous senior adviser told POLITICO that the party would keep developing "good relations" with figures including JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Another official said, "I've never been a huge fan of Mr. Trump."
At home, a YouGov poll published during midterm week put Reform's support at barely 20%, compared with the mid-30s a year earlier. The Independent described the figures as a return to competition between the Conservatives and Labour.
The opinion column also revisited Farage's short-lived alliance with Musk. Their 20-day association in January 2025 ended when Musk shifted his backing to Rupert Lowe. It joked that Farage had since found new partners in Ben and Chris, whom it called "the crypto twins".
Years of political and financial connections
Farage's ties to Trump stretch back well before the latest dispute. He was the first foreign politician to meet Trump after his 2016 election victory, the column recalled. Trump had celebrated the Brexit connection with the tweet, "They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!"
Farage also defended Trump amid allegations about his behavior toward women, saying, "It wasn't pretty, but he wasn't running to be Pope." The column recalled their photograph together in front of gold doors and described it as the first time Trump had been photographed without a tie.
Those US connections have involved funded travel as well as political appearances. DeSmog reported on November 3 that Farage had received £69,126 in income and £153,101 in expenses for attending 10 US events. The reported expenses included more than £32,000 for campaigning for Trump during the 2024 presidential election and £27,000 for attending events during his January 2025 inauguration. Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne funded both trips, according to DeSmog.
