Last week, I attended a political fundraiser in midtown Manhattan. Nothing unusual about that: fundraisers are a core ritual of American political life.
This particular gathering was also entirely typical of the genre: there was a swanky location (New York Athletic Club), elite attendees, indifferent canapés, impassioned speeches and knowing humour from a glamorous host – in this case, Peggy Grande, a former assistant to Ronald Reagan, who oozes charm.
There was, however, an unexpected twist to the event: Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s Brexit party, gave a speech in support of a new entity called World4Brexit, which aims to raise money from Americans (among others) to support the Brexit cause.