Nigel Farage: True Nature of the European Project Is "Genuine Anti-Americanism"

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage unloaded on the European Parliament's apparent disdain at the election of Donald Trump and his decision to institute a temporary cessation of immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations. He had some choice words for the body. Excerpts below.

NIGEL FARAGE: Now I can see you all are very upset here this afternoon and I have no doubt that the events in the United States over the last few weeks have been a very profound shock to you. Perhaps you're right. You see, what has happened here is somebody has stood on a manifesto for election, got into office, and within one week has said he will hold faith with his own electorate. It is called genuine democracy unlike the system we have in the European Union where unelected commissioners like [EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica] Mogherini here have the sole right to propose legislation.

So I'm sure it's a great shock to you to see a genuinely elected democrat is doing what he was put in to do.

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Now it seems to me that actually with all the anti-Trump rhetoric that is coming from everywhere--actually what we're hearing is the true nature of the European project, which is genuine anti-Americanism.

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But can we please, just for a moment, look at the facts amongst all the hyperbole and the hysteria. All that Donald Trump has done is taken seven countries that were identified by President Obama as posing a risk to the United States. Obama already had already put in place extreme vetting. What Trump has done is for 90 days to say, "Let's examine that vetting and see whether it's good enough."

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Perhaps what we need to be is a little more constructive. All of us here say we're democrats. Well, here's a chance to prove it. Let us invite President Trump to come here to this European Parliament. I'm sure as democrats you'd all agree that what we need to do is have an open dialogue with the newly-elected, most powerful man in the world. And if you throw that rejection back in my face, then you prove yourself to be the anti-democratic zealots that I always thought you were.

Behind Farage, Labor MEP Seb Dance of London held a sign that read "He's Lying To You." Dance, according to The Guardian, had a "screw it" moment and wanted to do something "pretty crude and unnuanced" during Farage's three-minute speech.