In about-face, Musk trashes Farage, UK’s anti-immigrant populist

London: It was an abrupt turnabout, even for the easy-come, easy-go nature of alliances in President-elect Donald Trump’s political orbit.

For weeks, Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire backer, had wrapped his arms around the British populist politician, Nigel Farage, promoting his insurgent, anti-immigrant party, Reform UK, as the answer to Britain’s problems.

But on Sunday, Musk posted, “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

Musk did not explain his change of heart. But it appears linked to Farage’s refusal to endorse Musk’s demand that a far-right agitator, Tommy Robinson, be released from prison. Farage has distanced himself from Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and who has multiple criminal convictions in addition to a history of Islamophobic statements.

“Well, this is a surprise!” a studiously chipper Farage posted an hour after Musk. “Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree. My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Musk’s rupture with Farage was a new twist in the dayslong barrage of increasingly strident, misinformation-filled posts about Britain from Musk, who appears intent on exercising the same influence in European countries that he did during the US presidential election.

He falsely accused the prime minister, Keir Starmer, of failing to go after child rapists when he was head of public prosecutions. And he endorsed a post calling on King Charles III to dissolve Parliament and call elections to remove Britain’s Labour government, a constitutional impossibility.

Musk targeted Britain after boosting a far-right party in Germany, Alternative for Germany. In Britain, where Musk has condemned the Labour government for its prosecution of online hate speech, among other issues, Farage seemed to have locked up Musk’s support.

Musk appeared to be flirting with another Reform member of Parliament, Rupert Lowe. Replying to a post about whether he should replace Farage as the party’s leader, Musk wrote, “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.”