As Britain reels from the aftershock of its decision to withdraw from the European Union, Nigel Farage, one of the most vocal Brexit advocates, insulted EU officials on Tuesday by saying they were in denial and that they had “never had a proper job before.”
“The reason you’re so upset, the reason you’re so angry, has been perfectly clear from all the angry exchanges this morning,” he told EU leaders during an emergency meeting in Brussels.
“You, as a political project, are in denial. You are in denial that your currency is failing.”
Farage’s remarks, which apparently ignored the British pound’s precipitous decline in the wake of Thursday’s referendum, drew loud jeers from members of the EU Parliament, with one of the sharpest attacks coming from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker:
“That’s the last time you’re applauding here,” Jean-Claude Juncker says to Nigel Farage in Brussels https://t.co/etGjisBRMv
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 28, 2016
Following the emergency session, Farage took a moment to congratulate himself for his speech, further highlighting parallels between him and master self-promoter Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
Delighted that my speech in the European Parliament this morning already watched over 1 million times on Facebook: https://t.co/Iho0g8kIhV
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 28, 2016
The clashes on Tuesday come amid calls from EU officials for Britain to exit from the European Union swiftly, so as to stem any further international and economic uncertainty in the aftermath of the unprecedented vote. British Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted his successor should be in place to manage the transition when he steps down from office in October. Brexit leaders, however, have resisted, saying there was “no need for haste” after the vote.
