Nigel Farage has said that men do not feel comfortable calling themselves feminists, after Piers Morgan challenged both him and Donald Trump to use the term.
Speaking on his LBC radio show the former Ukip leader said the term feminism had been ‘hijacked’ and that most men would feel ‘awkward’ attaching themselves to it.
It came after a combative interview on Good Morning Britain in which Mr Farage revealed that he is not a feminist as he claimed that he ‘doesn’t know’ what the word means.
Mr Farage, who also said the gender pay gap existed partly because men were ‘more selfish’, echoed the sentiments of President Donald Trump who replied ‘no’ when asked if he was a feminist.
On his LBC show on Monday evening Mr Farage said: ‘I think that it’s difficult for a man to identify as a feminist, it simply feels a very awkward thing to say.
‘I think if the question was asked do you believe in equal rights for men and women, the answer is simple, yes. Quite why we obsess on this word, on this label, I simply don’t know.
‘I do genuinely wonder what the term feminism now means, it seems to be that perhaps it’s been hijacked by some people who seem to have a rather anti-men and somewhat negative agenda.
‘The Oxford English Dictionary definition is the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of equality on the sexes, and there’s nothing to object to in that OED definition at all. I just think it’s an awkward word for men to use and it’s been hijacked too.
Nigel Farage has revealed that he is not a feminist as he claimed that he ‘doesn’t know’ what the term means
‘Equality is respecting both sexes, is genuinely believing in equal opportunities for all, but you don’t need to have a label put on you to believe in those things, and I was not going to bow down with the PC gods.
‘My view is that this is an issue on which the London media bubble has got it completely and utterly wrong.
‘Men in this country don’t want to identify as feminists, actually the vast majority of women don’t want to identify as feminists because it’s taken on these overtones of being something that can be somewhat extreme, somewhat anti-men and not perhaps particularly helpful.’
Mr Farage also discussed the gender pay gap with callers on his show, saying that men were ‘more selfish’ which made them more likely to earn high wages.
He said: ‘When I worked as a broker in the City I would never take a fortnight’s holiday. I felt I would lose customers, people would go off elsewhere, and that it was a disadvantage for women in that business if they took several months off to have a baby, they came back and they’d find themselves commercially in a weaker place.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mr Farage echoed the sentiments of Donald Trump who flatly replied ‘no’ when asked if he was a feminist
‘Isn’t it true that more men are prepared to sacrifice their family life to achieve economic and professional success than women who perhaps put a higher emphasis on the family?’
‘Men and women are different. I think men generally are much more selfish than women.’
President Trump said calling himself a feminist ‘would be going too far’ during his first international interview, with MailOnline editor-at-large Piers Morgan.
Mr Morgan posed the same question to British politician Mr Farage, who served as an adviser to Trump during the 2016 election campaign.
Asked if he identified as a feminist, Mr Farage said ‘I don’t know what it means’, before pointing at Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid and stating: ‘You can be a feminist, I can’t’.
Mr Morgan said that he would call himself a feminist but Mr Farage replied: ‘I wouldn’t, no. I would say, let everybody be equal and live in a fair society.
‘Is that feminism? What is feminism? It was the one part of the interview I simply couldn’t understand.’
Mr Farage later joked that there would be outrage if he identified as a feminist.
Earlier in the interview, Mr Farage batted away suggestions that he wanted a second public referendum on Brexit.
He said: ‘I never said that, talk about fake news. I never said anything of the kind. There’s no retreat at all. I said we may have to have a second referendum and if we have it, we’d have to win it even bigger than last time.
Mr Farage (pictured with Vince Cable) later joked that there would be outrage if he identified as a feminist
Earlier in the interview, Mr Farage batted away suggestions that he wanted a second referendum on Brexit
‘I fear [a second referendum] because of people like Vince Cable, who don’t accept the result, like most of the House of Lords.
‘The Americans can’t believe that were not able, very quickly, to sit down, negotiate and agree a trade deal because we voted to leave the European Union.
‘What I told President Trump last year is that it won’t be as easy as that because there’s a thing called Article 50 which will take up to two years, and he even looked at that with incredulity.
‘Entrepreneurs just like to get things done. Now it’s not just article 50 there’s going to be a transition period of two or three years. So from the time we voted
‘The reality is that from the moment we voted for Brexit to being able to sign a trade deal will probably be at least six years.’
His views on feminism were criticised by Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, who said he had released a ‘feminist novel’, a political thriller called Open Arms.
He said: ‘My leading character is a woman politician, not from my party as it happens. Strong, effective, probably doing a bit better than Theresa May.’
Shortly after his appearance on Good Morning Britain, social media users called out Nigel Farage for refusing to call himself a feminist
During his interview with Mr Morgan, the President gave a clear ‘no’ when asked whether he was a feminist.
Trump said: ‘No, I wouldn’t say I’m a feminist. I mean, I think that would be, maybe, going too far. I’m for women, I’m for men, I’m for everyone.
‘I think people have to go out, they have to go out and really do it, and they have to win. And women are doing great, and I’m happy about that.’
It comes after the US President insisted he was ‘very popular’ in the UK, despite vows from opponents that his visit to the country will be greeted with huge protests.
Piers Morgan revealed all about his exclusive ITV interview with Mr Trump on today’s Good Morning Britain.
He told co-host Susanna Reid: ‘I thought the bigger picture for Britain was [Trump] saying he doesn’t agree with the Brexit strategy, clearly I think an implication that we are heading towards a kind of fudge, when his bull in china shop thing is “if you’re leaving, leave”.
Piers Morgan has revealed how Donald Trump views Brexit as a ‘fudge’ as the US President criticised Theresa May’s approach to negotiations with the EU
Mr Farage’s views were criticised by Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, who said he had released a ‘feminist novel’, a political thriller about a female politician.
The MailOnline editor-at-large also said that Mr Trump considers the EU ‘terrible people’ and is ‘prepared to punish’ Brussels post-Brexit
‘And the EU; terrible people, terrible trade deal with the Americans, they are in for a nasty surprise.’
Morgan also revealed the ‘mayhem’ that surrounds the President on his travels, with one member of staff tasked with protecting his water during interviews.
Social media was abuzz with memes as many users pointed out that the renowned germaphobe had a white cover on his glass of water.
But Morgan revealed that the privilege was reserved for all serving US presidents to prevent them from being ‘poisoned’.
He said: ‘He has a whole army of people that came with him, from the secret service swarming everywhere to his two press chiefs and a stenographer who tapes it all.
‘But there’s one woman who came in, who has been working for the White House for years, who said “I am here for the presidential water. It’s my job to supply the water.”
‘She goes off and comes back with the presidential water. She then gets a glass and pours the presidential water in and then she produces a presidential seal napkin and a presidential seal cover or lid and very carefully places them on top.
Viewers were also fascinated by the President’s drinking habits, with several pointing out that the renowned germaphobe had a white cover on his glass of water
Morgan also revealed the ‘mayhem’ that surrounds the President on his travels, with one member of staff tasked with protecting his water during interviews
The US President claimed there are a lot of Britons who respect him and like what he stands for
‘I said to her “could I possible have those seals”, she said “I’m afraid not this is for the President of the United States”.
‘It’s all about the president being protected, predominantly from poison.’
Morgan also said that when the interview moved towards gun control back in the US, the President ‘had nothing to say’.
‘You can see he is propped up by the NRA and all he kept saying was he’s a second amendment guy,’ the Good Morning Britain Host added.
During his first international TV interview, Mr Trump was asked if he thought the Prime Minister was ‘in a good position’ regarding Brexit talks.
Mr Trump replied: ‘Would it be the way I negotiate? No, I wouldn’t negotiate it the way it’s [being] negotiated… I would have had a different attitude.’
Pressed on how his approach would have differed from that of Mrs May, he said: ‘I would have said that the European Union is not cracked up to what it’s supposed to be. I would have taken a tougher stand in getting out.’
Trump said he usually tweets at breakfast or over lunch before getting down to the work of government in the day.
Speaking to Morgan on ITV from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the President said: ‘Perhaps [I tweet] in bed, perhaps sometimes at breakfast and lunch.
The President, pictured with the prime minister in Davos, said the EU isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in the ITV interview
‘Generally speaking during the early morning I can do that then I am busy during the day. I sometimes just dictate out things to my people.’
Mr Trump also mentioned that his mother, Mary, was born in Scotland and said he ‘loves’ the UK.
‘The real me is somebody that loves Britain, loves the UK. I love Scotland,’ he said. ‘One of the biggest problems I have in winning, I won’t be able to get back there so often. I would love to go there.’
Morgan came to the issue of Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan when discussing Mr Trump’s biggest critics in the UK.
When the presenter mentioned that both politicians wanted him to stay away from the UK Mr Trump said, ‘I don’t know the man, I don’t know the man.’
The President has a long running enmity with Mr Khan. Last year he was scathing about the London Mayor response to the terror attacks in Westminster and London Bridge.
He tweeted: ‘At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’
Trump was asked whether Mrs May was in a good position in the Brexit talks and said she should have been stronger in her approach
President Trump also defended his diet. Asked if he planned to switch away from fast food, which he has regularly been pictured eating, he said: ‘No don’t want to change it.
‘I eat fine food, some from the finest chefs in the world. I am healthy, I have some of that [fast food] on occasion. I think I eat actually quite well.’
In the interview, Mr Trump also sparked a diplomatic row by claiming the Prime Minister had invited him to make two trips to the UK this year – including a State visit in October, with all the pomp that entails.
And in a snub to Mrs May, the President said he would have taken a much tougher stance than Mrs May towards Brussels.
His intervention could undermine the moves he made earlier to repair the transatlantic special relationship by singing the praises of Britain and saying how much he supported and respected Mrs May.
In his first international television interview, the President told Piers Morgan that May’s negotiations should have been tougher
The comments will boost those calling for a ‘hard Brexit’, led by Boris Johnson.
Mr Trump claimed he was not surprised by the result of the EU referendum: ‘I said [that] because of trade, but mostly immigration, Brexit is going to be a big upset. And I was right.’
He added: ‘I know the British people and understand them. They don’t want people coming from all over the world into Britain, they don’t know anything about these people.’
However, Mrs May can draw comfort from the President’s promise of a ‘great trade deal’ between Britain and America after the UK has left the EU: ‘You have a two-year restriction because of Brexit, but when that is up we’re going to be your great trading partner.
Before the cameras started rolling, Mr Morgan asked Mr Trump if he was coming to the UK. He replied: ‘Yeah, I’ll be there. She [Mrs May] just invited me. Twice.’
After checking with an aide, Mr Trump said he expected one non-State visit – probably in July after a Nato summit in Brussels – followed by a State visit in October. A White House aide said later the date had not yet been confirmed.
Mr Trump’s comments about a State visit took Downing Street and Buckingham Palace by surprise. A Whitehall source added: ‘As far as we know, nothing has been agreed about the President meeting the Queen.’
Buckingham Palace declined to comment. Mrs May’s invitation for a State visit – made shortly after Mr Trump entered the White House a year ago – had been put on ice as a result of wide-scale public opposition.
Donald Trump said he would have taken a tougher stance during EU negotiations in an interview with Piers Morgan
Mr Trump also cancelled a planned trip to open the new US Embassy in London next month. However, the President told Mr Morgan: ‘A lot of people in your country like what I stand for, they respect what I stand for.’
Mr Trump made it clear that he was thrilled at the way Emmanuel Macron had ‘rolled out the red carpet’ for him on a State visit to France. ‘Emmanuel is a great guy. His wife is fantastic. I like them a lot. We had dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower and everything was closed.’
Mr Trump had reportedly refused a State visit to the UK after Mrs May criticised him for retweeting videos from British far-Right extremists.
The President said he would apologise if the far-right group is seen as being ‘horrible and racist’.
The videos were initially posted by British nationalist Jayda Fransen, who has been convicted of hate crimes, and Theresa May publicly condemned the President.
In the president’s first international TV interview he claimed he would have taken a tougher stance than Theresa May when negotiating with the EU