How Nigel Farage's 'Donald Trump problem' risks narrowing Reform's path to power

However, 70 per cent of Britons see Reform UK as pro-Trump.

Only two per cent of those polled thought Mr Farage’s party was anti-Trump.

This begs the question of whether Mr Farage’s special relationship with the President does more harm than good to Reform's chances in 2029.

Julian Gallie, a polling expert at Merlin Strategy, told GB News: “We’ve seen in Canada and Australia just recently the impact that Trump can have for parties on the right.

“The impact on voting in the UK could mean a rally around the flag effect helping the incumbent and distancing the UK away from America and Trump, we would expect this to be more pronounced with women and older voters.”

In comparison, other political parties appear to have lent into Hugh Grant's Love Actually approach to the boisterous US President.

Thirty-five per cent believe the Conservatives are in favour of the US President, while for Labour it is just 21 per cent.

For the Liberal Democrats, the figure drops significantly to three per cent, with just one per cent seeing Zack Polanski's Green Party as supportive of the Republican.

Mr Farage's pro-Trump perception could risk limiting the party’s appeal, with those who are “very anti-Trump” (56 per cent) potentially being put off from voting for Reform UK.

Reform UK voters are the only group who are more likely to be pro-Trump than against the President.

Forty-six per cent of Reform voters in the 2024 general election consider themselves in some way pro-Trump.

However, this figure falls dramatically to 19 per cent among those who voted Conservative – an electorate Mr Farage is hoping to win over.

Only four per cent of Green voters consider themselves pro-Trump, with the figure dropping to three per cent of Labour voters and just two per cent of Lib Dem voters.

Arguably, Mr Farage’s alignment with Mr Trump energises Reform’s existing supporters but risks alienating voters he needs to appeal to if the party is to expand beyond its core base.

Looking at the gender split, 72 per cent of women consider themselves anti-Trump, compared with 61 per cent of men.

Among Reform voters, however, this figure drops significantly, with four per cent of female Reform voters describing themselves as anti-Trump and two per cent of male Reform voters.

However, 62 per cent of female Reform voters would consider themselves pro-Trump in some way, significantly below to the 79 per cent of male Reform voters.

That leaves 30 per cent of female Reform voters in a grey “don’t know” category.

These women may be susceptible to change on the US President, with Mr Trump being no stranger to drama and controversy.

If these women see Reform overwhelmingly in favour of Mr Trump but do not like him, this could steer them away from Mr Farage’s party.

During the 2024 presidential election, only 12 per cent of UK women said they wanted Mr Trump to become President.

An Ipsos poll from March 2025 revealed one of the biggest negatives associated with Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister is the perception that he is too close to the President, with 35 per cent citing this as a concern.

However, the closeness of the two politicians appears to be in question.

The Financial Times reported that the pair did not meet when Mr Farage visited the President’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, fuelling rumours that the relationship has “cooled”.

Mr Farage had reportedly framed the trip to the President’s Florida resort as one where he would be having an audience with Mr Trump.

However, the Reform UK leader was instead invited by another member of the club.

For Mr Farage, the relationship with Mr Trump may remain a political double-edged sword.

While it clearly resonates with Reform’s core supporters, the data suggests it could limit the party’s appeal among the wider British electorate.

If Reform is to broaden its support ahead of the next general election, the polls suggest that Mr Farage may need to decide whether his closeness to the US President is ultimately an asset or a liability.