Nigel Farage planning to move to US

UKIP leader would feel 'freer' in US, according to media reports.

Former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

Nigel Farage plans to move to the United States, even if he doesn’t become the U.K.’s ambassador to Washington.

The UKIP acting leader and MEP told friends that he is preparing to emigrate with his wife, Kirsten, the Times reported Thursday, with friends saying he would feel “freer” on the opposite side of the Atlantic.

Farage made headlines this week after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that he would do “a great job” as British ambassador to the U.S. That angered the British government, which said there was “no vacancy.”

That came days after Farage became the first British politician to congratulate Trump on his victory in person, with the pair posing outside a golden door at Trump Tower in New York.

Asked about his visit to see the tycoon last week, Farage hinted at relocating to the U.S. “If I were rich I wouldn’t be living in the middle of New York,” he said, “I’d be out in Maine, somewhere coastal.”

On Wednesday night, Farage celebrated his contribution to the Brexit campaign and Trump’s election win at a party at the swanky Ritz hotel in London. It was hosted by UKIP donor Arron Banks.

Farage was presented with a silver salver of Ferrero Rocher, advertised as being the chocolates of choice at diplomatic parties. Addressing guests from the top of a grand staircase, Farage said 2016 “will stand out as one of those great historic years — the election of The Donald was something of a completely different order,” the Times reported.

Farage will visit Trump’s team in Washington in early December, the Telegraph reported late Wednesday.

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