‘Dirty’ Trump deserved to be thrashed in the US midterms, says Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch says Donald Trump “deserved to be thrashed” in the US elections and has denounced his “dirty” style of politics.

In a sweeping attack on the American president’s record, she criticised him over the Iran war, for threatening Canada and Greenland, imposing swingeing tariffs and “squabbling with allies” including the UK.

Mr Trump’s heavy defeat in the US midterm elections was “entirely self-inflicted”, she told The Independent editor-in-chief Geordie Greig.

Controversially, Ms Badenoch said she would have been content if Mr Trump had never won a second term in the White House and his Democrat opponent, left-winger Kamala Harris had become president in 2024 instead.

In the wide-ranging exclusive interview for The Talk Show, Ms Badenoch also savaged Tory predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for their “mistakes” in government.

She said Andy Burnham was more “fun” than Keir Starmer, but behind the “charm” he was “dangerous”.

She called Nigel Farage’s Reform Party “bonkers” and ruled out serving in a Conservative-Reform coalition led by him.

But she conceded that before his dip in popularity, Mr Farage had made an “emotional connection” with voters that the Tories had lost until she became leader

Ms Badenoch’s outspoken condemnation of Mr Trump’s policies and personality may come as a surprise, especially to Tory supporters, some of whom urged her to copy him after he won power.

Asked if he deserved to be thrashed, she did not hesitate: “Yeah. He has not been acting in the way that I would consider conservative. Where is the push for free markets and better trade... rather than protectionism, America first, the squabbling with allies? That’s not what conservatives do.

“Trump is very charming in person, but you see the way that he talks about journalists, about individuals. It doesn’t meet the standards a statesman should meet – always wanting to get dirty in terms of insults and so on.

“When he was rude about Keir Starmer... I didn’t like that at all. What they did to President Zelensky in the White House was awful.”

Mr Trump had won power “with an extraordinary coalition of Latinos, more Black voters than any other Republican” – and wasted it, she said.

“What’s the first thing he does? Tariffs, and then talking about Greenland and Canada. A lot of people were wondering, ‘What are you doing?’”

She understood Mr Trump’s initial decision to go to war with Iran – which she had backed.

“We don’t want them getting nuclear weapons. But where’s the plan?”

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His defeat in the mid-term elections was “entirely self-inflicted”, she said. “Voters want results.”

Ms Badenoch claimed she would have been happy if Mr Trump had lost the last presidential election – and revealed a hitherto unknown admiration for fellow Black female politician Kamala Harris.

“People ask me who did I prefer, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump? I would say I like them both equally. Make of that what you will.”

While refusing to “name and blame” former Conservative PMs Mr Johnson and Ms Truss, she was fiercely critical of both their records in No 10. They were guilty of “gimmicks, mistakes and short-termism”, she said. “Everybody made mistakes. Obviously, the leaders were responsible for most of them. Immigration was too high.”

Did she mean Mr Johnson and the so-called “Boris wave” of immigration?

“People know who the prime minister was then,” she said, removing all doubt.

Ms Truss got equally short shrift. Ms Badenoch savaged the disastrous budget that saw her kicked out of Downing Street after six weeks.

“You can’t just announce £150bn bailing out people’s energy bills and £45bn of tax cuts with no spending cuts at all,” she said disbelievingly.

“Those are the wrong way of doing things.”

READ MORE Kemi Badenoch: 'I watched a man being beaten to death in front of me'

Rather than condemn Mr Johnson and Ms Truss personally, Ms Badenoch, a Methodist, quoted St Augustine: “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

She deflected the notion that Mr Burnham’s “charm” had revived Labour fortunes since awkward Mr Starmer’s demise.

Calling him a “foot in mouth” politician, she said: “He says things first and then thinks about it later.”

“He is more genial. I’m not sure I would call it charm. He looks like he’d be more fun company at a party, (but) that makes him more dangerous because he wants to please everybody.”

With the latest polls indicating the Conservatives have narrowed the gap with Labour to two points, she insisted she had his measure, boasting: “The more Andy Burnham sees of me, the less he wants to have an early election.”

She is equally confident about seeing off the challenge from Mr Farage, whose ratings have fallen in the wake of a series of scandals to hit him and Reform. It has coincided with the Conservatives overtaking Reform in the political ratings war.

“At the moment, I am beating him, and I think he’s very worried about that,” she said.

She freely admitted Mr Farage initially struck a chord with the public at a time the Tories were floundering.

“What worked for him was having an emotional connection and an authenticity which we as a party had lost, sounding very technocratic.”

That had all changed now she was Tory leader and the shine was coming off Mr Farage, she said.

“One of the things going wrong for him was that he pretended to be this everyman.

“A lot of his supporters... don’t understand how he’s getting £5m and they’re not able to pay their energy bills.”

It was up to a Commons inquiry to decide if Mr Farage’s £5m donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire was “corrupt”, said Mr Badenoch. But she has made up her mind.

“His story doesn’t add up.”

She is just as adamant she would never serve under ‘Prime Minister Farage.’

“No, because he would not be good for this country. I simply wouldn’t.”

Some of Reform’s ideas, such as a recent proposal to nationalise Poundland were plain “bonkers”, she said.

She also claimed Mr Farage did her a favour with the acrimonious defection of defeated Tory leadership rival Robert Jenrick to Reform earlier this year.

Getting rid of Mr Jenrick was like defusing an “unexploded bomb” – leaks from the Shadow Cabinet ceased overnight, she said.

Ms Badenoch joked: “The only thing I haven’t done is written a thank you card to Nigel Farage for taking these problems away. I’ll write it in his Christmas card!”

She defended her aggressive style at the Commons despatch box.

“You have to be a fighter to survive. There are 400 Labour MPs screaming and shouting. I need to put some of those people in their place. It’s a kill or be killed arena.”

Which explains why she refused to say sorry for calling ex-education secretary Bridget Phillipson “spiteful” for the closure of private schools as a result of Labour’s VAT on school fees.

“Spiteful. What’s wrong with that?” she retorted.

“She hurt many, many children. They had to leave their schools, which closed down. It was class war. So yes, I will call it like it is.

“We’ve spent a lot of time dressing things up in fancy words where most of the public don’t understand what we’re talking about.”

After putting a difficult start as Conservative leader behind her, Ms Badenoch said Labour and Reform jibes do not get under her thick skin. Even if they did, she would not show it.

She is proud of being a “cool customer”, adding: “I’m a poker player. I have a very good poker face.

“I remember saying to some people I get better every day, and they mocked it. But it’s true. I believe in continuous improvement.”

Watch the full Talk Show interview at the top of this story or on YouTube here