Farage v trump

[Beautifulbabyboy]

Friends of mine who voted for Brexit and Farage, are shocked and outraged that Trump has been elected in the USA. I am a bit about this... both employed racist and decisive arguments during their campaigns etc. Thoughts please?

That should devisive!

They might just really dislike his hair.

Uh oh. I'm a remainer, but there's a big difference here. People did have some reasonable reasons for voting to leave the EU that didn't involve stupidity and racism. It was a complex issue.
Not so with Trump. You knew what you were getting with Trump; he was endorsed by the KKK, made mad promises with no basis in reality, surrounded himself with mad alt-right types, and said some truly horrible things.

CockacidalManiac - indeed so.

Farage was racist, he depicted a line of refugees escaping war as economic migrants, and claimed that the whole of turkey was going to invade the U.K. Everything he said was a lie. I don't see the difference.

Farage was only one part of the argument for Brexit. There was potentially argument to be be made for leaving the EU from left or right of the political spectrum.

Yes, Farage is a cunt though.

I can't understand people who voted out of the EU being against anything Trump believes in, the message is the same IMHO

I think the problem I have is that all the people I know who voted to leave, when they say they didn't do it for racist reasons, when I ask them to name specific European laws they dislike and how the European Parliament is constituted look at me dumbfounded, which only serves to confirm in my head that they did it for racist reasons. Hence Trump = Farage.

I know people who voted to leave the EU as they see it as a neoliberal club that has shafted the Greeks and Spanish. I also know someone who just sees it as antidemocratic and voted Leave.
I don't happen to agree with either of these viewpoints, but neither stem from racism.

But the brexit vote wasn't actually a vote for Farage...

He wasn't being elected and the issue wasn't just, vote for him or someone else, it was a way more complicated question than that.

Thanks for the alternate view. Am actually looking for reasons not to fall out with my friends!

I have a friend whose political views I am mostly aligned with who voted to leave. He did it for left wing reasons, not racist ones, knowing him. We've not actually had the conversation, but I'd be interested to know how he feels about that vote now.

Farage carefully cultivates the 'geezer next door' pint and fag character, which really isn't him, it's all snake oil but some people in this country relate to that persona. He markets himself as 'one of us'.

Trump doesn't even try to do that. He's $$$ tasting, the property empire, golf courses, private jets, fake tan, combover.

People will accept racism and misogyny from the former but not the latter.

Don't get me wrong; I believe that Brexit is the greatest act of self harm since WW2. I appreciate that people had reasons other than racism to vote Leave, however. Do they regret it now? Perhaps.

Farage carefully cultivates the 'geezer next door' pint and fag character, which really isn't him, it's all snake oil but some people in this country relate to that persona. He markets himself as 'one of us'.

Trump doesn't even try to do that. He's $$$ tasting, the property empire, golf courses, private jets, fake tan, combover.

People will accept racism and misogyny from the former but not the latter.

Well, as they've just elected him to the Presidency, it looks like they have.

I don't know. Many people I know who voted leave don't regret it.
Most of them did it for the NHS but are still ok with their decision now the lie has been exposed.

I'm talking about the friends mentioned in the OP, Cocka. The ones who support Farage but not Trump.

Most of them did it for the NHS but are still ok with their decision now the lie has been exposed.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that you've been thoroughly conned though.

Ah, I see. I misunderstood. Sorry, Len!

DON'T CALL ME LEN!

I understand where you are coming from OP. The rational part of me understands there were a wide range of reasons people voted Brexit and it is plain wrong to say all leavers are racist / sexist etc. I expect there were also reasons people voted for Trump that weren't racist / sexist etc. However in both scenarios racism, sexism, islamophobia etc - whilst being an entirely predictable consequence of both Brexit and Trump - were not a deal breaker for those who voted for them. In that way I think they are very similar.

Farage is repugnant, no doubt. Watching him nuzzle up to Trumplestilzskin really is quite nauseating. And dangerous to the eyes too - the orangeness levels are frankly alarming.

That said, although I am a Remainer, Farage was not the sole reason people voted Leave, so unless your friends happen to have voted in the constituency where he stood last time around, it's not quite the same. Although I think the root causes of both Brexit and President Trumpkin are closely related.