Why did some of the worst left-behinds in British politics, like Johnson and Truss, spend the week parading outside the RNC?

NOTApollo had the island of St. Helena, Leon Trotsky had several locations in Turkey, Norway and Mexico. These days, the political exiles of the United Kingdom all seem to end up in a much more desolate place: the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Among the throng of American political pundits, state delegates and zealous Donald Trump supporters, several familiar British faces emerged, usually with the prefix “former” before their job title, to rub shoulders with the GOP elite.

At the 2024 convention, where Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president and chose JD Vance as his running mate, a host of infamous names from across the Atlantic came to pay tribute to him.

The former British prime minister and Donald Trump were photographed together at the RNC on Tuesday, with Johnson's signature tousled hairstyle contrasting sharply with Trump's polished facets and white earband.

“It was a pleasure to meet President Trump, who is in great shape after the shameful assassination attempt against him,” Johnson wrote on X. “We discussed Ukraine and I am confident he will be strong and decisive in supporting that country and defending democracy.”

The former prime minister has kept a relatively low profile in the UK since his less than graceful departure from 10 Downing Street in July 2022 following a series of domestic political scandals.

He and Trump worked together for just over a year, their respective terms overlapping from July 2019 to November 2020, and enjoyed a seemingly cordial relationship. The duo shared some similarities, including a notoriously bizarre haircut, a penchant for inflammatory rhetoric and a propensity for outrage.

In fact, the former president himself once proudly called Johnson the “British Trump” and praised him as tough and smart.

“Boris is good. He’s going to do a good job,” Trump said in 2019, after Johnson was elected Conservative leader.

That friendly alliance appears to be strengthening, at least according to Johnson. His praise for the former president stands in stark contrast to the support (or lack thereof) he has given his former chancellor-turned-rival Rishi Sunak, to whom Johnson offered little support in the run-up to the British election earlier this month.

Another infamous former Prime Minister, Liz Truss, also made her presence known in Wisconsin.

Great to be at the @RNC in Milwaukee to see President Trump get nominated. Leadership the West needs, she wrote on X on Monday, following up with a series of photos of herself signing fan merchandise and meeting Trump’s newly chosen running mate, JD Vance. A true conservative and what America needs, she wrote.

Americans may remember Truss as the woman who left office before a head of lettuce was dead.

At just 49 days, her term was the shortest of any previous British prime minister, although she has since decided to conquer America, making several appearances at Republican events alongside infamous figures such as Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist who is currently incarcerated.

Earlier this year, she appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland where she gave a speech in which she claimed the deep state had thwarted her plans, denounced conservatives in name only and promoted her book, Ten years to save the West.

The Conservatives are now operating in a hostile environment and we essentially need a bigger bazooka to deliver on our promises, Truss said in a 15-minute speech titled Taking Back Our Parties.

Like Johnson, Truss now has more free time to mingle with the GOP elite, having lost his South West Norfolk parliamentary seat in the July 4 general election. Unlike Johnson, Truss did not get the golden goose of a photo with the former president himself at the RNC.

Although he has appeared and disappeared from the British and European political scene, Nigel Farage has remained a regular and even popular face of the American right. He has appeared several times on CPAC and was once hailed by Trump at a rally as one of the most powerful men in Europe.

A photo of the couple, smiling broadly in front of the gold elevator doors of Trump Tower, also went viral.

However, it is unclear how close the two are today. The Independent From the RNC, Farage said he was there because of a friend who was going through a difficult time, later making similar comments to British journalist Emily Maitlis.

I had to come, I've been friends with Trump all these years, he told her, in an interview for Newsagents podcast. He just survived an assassination attempt, so I thought I'd come say hi.

Asked if Trump himself had invited him to come to Wisconsin, Farage hesitated, before admitting that it was the people around him who thought it was the right thing for me to come, it was the right thing for me to come… I have friends, I don't know if you have them or not, maybe you don't, but when they're going through a difficult time it's right to go and support them.

It is unclear whether Farage and Trump met during the 2024 NCR.

In the run-up to Trump's election in 2020, Farage was a regular at rallies: the former president also regularly drew comparisons between Brexit, led by Farage, and his own election campaign.

Russell Brand

Comedian and actor Russell Brand was spotted outside the RNC grounds Wednesday morning, after telling his large internet following that he was heading to Milwaukee to interview high-profile figures at the convention.

Brand reportedly performed two stand-up comedy shows earlier in the week and posted several videos throughout the week, including a chat with Eric Trump, the former president's son, in which he discussed the attempted assassination of his father.

Brand has kept a low profile in the UK since multiple allegations of sexual assault emerged against him last September. The actor was accused of raping and emotionally abusing four women between 2006 and 2013, at the height of his fame. Brand has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Since then, his operations have largely taken place online, with videos and live streams on YouTube and Rumble.

He had also previously participated in an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, a known friend and associate of Trump, in which he said it was very, very painful to be accused of the most horrific crimes.

Carlson himself, who was abruptly fired from Fox in April 2023 following the settlement of a major defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, was photographed at the RNC on Wednesday night.