--- description: Outgoing UKIP leader Nigel Farage praised Donald Trump's performance at Sunday's debate, likening him to “a silverback gorilla” title: UKIP Leader Nigel Farage Praises 'Big Alpha Male' Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4ec8665a3de17f5/6988a950524fc06f0edf9c87/rtx2mxoz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Debates](/tag/debates/) ## Debates Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Britain's Nigel Farage Just Likened Donald Trump to a 'Silverback Gorilla' by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 10, 2016 9:12 AM CUT  Outgoing UKIP leader Nigel Farage speaks during a campaign rally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 24, 2016 Outgoing UKIP leader Nigel Farage speaks during a campaign rally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 24, 2016Carlo Allegri—Reuters by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 10, 2016 9:12 AM CUT The outgoing head of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage, championed Donald Trump’s performance in the spin room following Sunday’s [presidential debate](http://time.com/4524589/second-presidential-debate-donald-trump-nuclear/?xid=homepage "undefined") in St. Louis. Praising his efforts during the debate, Farage likened Trump to “a silverback gorilla,” and called him a “big alpha male,” according to the _Guardian._ “He looked like a big gorilla prowling the set and he is that big alpha male — that’s what he is, that’s what he is,” Farage said. Farage’s words of support come at a time when Trump is [losing the backing](http://time.com/4524010/donald-trumps-lewd-comments-leave-the-gop-scrambling/ "undefined") of many of his fellow Republicans after the damaging disclosure on Friday of a tape exposing him making [offensive remarks](http://time.com/4523755/donald-trump-leaked-tape-impact/ "undefined") about women that some people have claimed amount to an admission of sexual assault. While a number of [prominent Republicans](http://time.com/4523942/donald-trump-women-video-gop-rejection/ "undefined") have spoken out publicly against Trump’s comments and withdrawn from his corner, Farage [appears as enamored](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/09/nigel-farage-defends-donald-trump-over-alpha-male-boasting "undefined") as ever with his fellow “Mr. Brexit.” The UKIP leader had initially [joined the nominee](http://time.com/4465754/donald-trump-nigel-farage-mr-brexit/ "undefined") on the campaign trail in August, where he compared [Trump’s quest](http://time.com/4465479/donald-trump-brexit-nigel-farage/ "undefined") for the White House to his own successful bid to lead Britain to exit the European Union. Farage also delivered a few words about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the _Guardian_ reports, claiming that she poses a threat to democratic values. \[[_Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/10/nigel-farage-fights-donald-trumps-corner-in-post-debate-spin-room?CMP=twt%5Fgu "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4524705/donald-trump-nigel-farage-hillary-clinton-debate-gorilla/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4524705/donald-trump-nigel-farage-hillary-clinton-debate-gorilla/"},"headline":"Britain's Nigel Farage Just Likened Donald Trump to a 'Silverback Gorilla'","datePublished":"2016-10-10T09:12:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:05:51.533Z","description":"Donald Trump still has a friend in the U.K. politician","url":"https://time.com/4524705/donald-trump-nigel-farage-hillary-clinton-debate-gorilla/","keywords":["Debates","Hillary Clinton","Donald Trump","Nigel Farage"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4ec8665a3de17f5/6988a950524fc06f0edf9c87/rtx2mxoz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Feliz Solomon","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4ec8665a3de17f5/6988a950524fc06f0edf9c87/rtx2mxoz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"European Parliament Nigel Farage speaks during a Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump campaign rally in Jackson","caption":"European Parliament Nigel Farage speaks during a Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump campaign rally in Jackson","creditText":"Carlo Allegri—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/debates/","name":"Debates"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4524705/donald-trump-nigel-farage-hillary-clinton-debate-gorilla/","name":"Britain's Nigel Farage Just Likened Donald Trump to a 'Silverback Gorilla'"}}]}] ```