How Farage’s response to racism claims is straight out of Trump’s populist playbook

Reform UK leader's legal threats, denials and attacks on the media are tactics often deployed by US president

When Nigel Farage angrily denounced the BBC and insulted one of its presenters for raising questions about his alleged schoolboy racism, those who have been studying the tactics of the right noted that his behaviour felt familiar.

Is it out of the Trump playbook? I think that's exactly what's going on," said Steven Barnett, a professor of communications at the University of Westminster. This is becoming his new modus operandi, turning defence into attack. It's exactly the tactics White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, uses. There are a lot of journalists in this country who just aren't used to it."