As photographs, they are both visually striking and politically resonant. Nigel Farage, who proclaims himself to be Britain's next prime minister, and two of his extremely wealthy supporters are bathed in the golden glow of his hero Donald Trump.
In terms of raw politics, a meeting between the Reform UK leader, the party's new treasurer Nick Candy and Elon Musk at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida on Monday. The meeting was so important that it is forever remembered with enthusiasm and photographs. The announcement was made by Mr Farage's media team.
Mr Musk, the world's richest man, who has poured more than $250 million of his fortune into helping Mr Trump regain the presidency, is rumored to be very smitten with Mr Farage – and says he is “woke”. ” Appalled by what he sees as a left-wing Labor government – he may donate $100 million to the populist right-wing Reform Party.
This may or may not happen, and even if it does, it will leave a party that, as Farage admits, still lacks the organization and know-how to win elections. It remains to be seen how much of an impact such a windfall will have.
But this is definitely a picture that sums up the current state of British politics, or at least parts of it. It is Farage's second era as a domestic tribute to Trump, an era in which he too hopes to eventually win the election.
For context, it's easier to understand if you look at another slightly flashier photo. This photo was taken almost exactly eight years ago, when Trump had just won his first presidential election.
This, too, was widely reproduced at the time, showing Mr Farage standing next to Mr Trump in front of a gold-plated elevator in New York's Trump Tower, flanked by a man who reveled in being called a 'Brexiteer'. The video showed the group lined up.
This is a different era and in some ways a markedly different image than this week's. A photo of President Trump with his awkward posture and thumbs up looks like a photo snatch between an extravagant celebrity and a group of excited fans.
Mr Farage had just won the Brexit referendum and was already a prominent politician, including insurance billionaire Aaron Banks and scandalous former far-right campaigner Raheem Kassam. , his entourage was a bit more low-income. They live on the fringes of the Trump circus.
Eight years later, the difference is clear. Farage is no longer a supplicant lurking in the lobby of President Trump's residence, but is inside, meeting with the man who, at least for now, is the reelected president's most influential ally.
The more free-spirited style of Trump's second term is reflected in his clothing. Lined up outside the gold lift are six men wearing nearly identical dark suits. In the Mar-a-Lago snap, Farage and Candy are dressed identically, though Candy eschews a tie, his mask fixating the camera with a strangely plastic half-smile, and a sheepskin He wears a leather jacket with lining.
Mask watchers quickly identified this as a common staple in the billionaire's wardrobe. Belstaff is a British company that started making protective equipment for motorcyclists in the 1920s, but now makes more leisure-oriented products for £1,000 or £1,000. more.
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Perhaps the most striking element of the new photo is the background painting, showing a much younger, suspiciously slim-looking Trump wearing what, to British eyes, looks like a white cricket jumper, in the glow of a sunset. It depicts him bathing in water.
This is the 1989 work “Visionary'' by the late social portraitist Ralph Wolf Cowan, once known as the “Van Dyke of Palm Beach.'' He made a living by painting generally unflattering portraits of people, including the Monaco royal family and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. and Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines and shoe enthusiast.
Cowan called his style “romantic realism,” and one critic summed up his methods as making his subjects “20 pounds lighter and 20 years younger.”
In fact, a portrait of Mr. Trump wearing tennis gear is displayed in the Mar-a-Lago library, but Mr. Trump's left hand, one of Mr. Cowan's trademarks, is only a sketch and was originally intentionally left unfinished. It was left as is. Cowan updated the photo more than 10 years later, after receiving numerous complaints from President Trump, who was not happy about it.
Latest photo update – could election winner Farage be seen alongside British mega-donor Musk? – is waiting.
