Nigel Farage has said Donald Trump was ‘absolutely enraged’ after a leaked memo appeared to suggest a BBC programme had doctored footage of one of his speeches
Nigel Farage has said Donald Trump was “absolutely enraged” after a leaked memo appeared to suggest a BBC programme had doctored footage of one of his speeches.
The Reform UK leader said he spoke to the US President on Friday and said that “to say that he was angry would be an understatement”.
The Clacton MP – one of Mr Trump’s cheerleaders – said the US politician thought the allegations were the “final straw”. Mr Farage even compared the BBC to Russia’s “meddling in elections”.
He told LBC radio: “I did speak to Donald Trump on Friday, and to say that he was angry would be an understatement. As he said, ‘I thought you guys were allies’, and this was a state broadcaster.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump celebrates as Tim Davie quits BBC over doctored speech
Mr Farage continued: “He was absolutely enraged. Enraged that the BBC had done this to him. He could scarcely believe it. I mean, he has been a critic of the BBC in the past, that is true, but he really thought this was the final straw.
“And frankly, you know everyone talks about Russia meddling in elections. We hear that year after year after year. Well, what about the BBC, their attempt to interfere in a Presidential election just weeks before the vote?
“The BBC have deeply offended the leader of the free world, an absolutely crucial ally, whether you like Trump or not, a crucial ally to this country, without whom we are effectively defenceless. I’m not surprised he’s pleased.”
Last night BBC director general Tim Davie and chief executive of News Deborah Turness resigned from the broadcaster. They left the organisation following strong criticism that a Panorama documentary had misled viewers by editing a speech by Trump ahead of the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol building.
On that day in Washington DC, Trump encouraged his supporters to protest the certification of the 2020 Presidential Election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. There is no credible evidence the election was stolen.
The Telegraph recently published details suggesting the BBC edited two parts of Mr Trump’s speech together so he appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021. It led to bias allegations against the BBC.
He said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” But the Panorama edit showed him saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The two parts of the speech were edited together despite being more than 50 minutes apart. The edit sparked condemnation from the White House, which branded the BBC as “100% fake news” as well as a “propaganda machine.”
Mr Trump last night celebrated Mr Davie’s resignation. In a post shared to TruthSocial, he said: “The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught “doctoring” my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th. Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt “Journalists.”
Ms Turness this morning stressed that the corporation is “not institutionally biased” and the journalists are not “corrupt”. “I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me,” she said. “But I’d like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That’s why it’s the world’s most trusted news provider.”
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