Allies of former President Donald Trump slam Britain's Labor Party after one of its officials reveals plans to mobilize 100 current and former staffers to get votes for Vice President Harris in battleground states. I am doing it.
Labor Party operations chief Sophia Patel caused a stir with a post on LinkedIn.
“About 100 current and former Labor staff will be traveling to the US in the coming weeks, heading to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia. There are 10 spots where anyone can head to the battleground states. Prepared. [North] Carolina, we will sort out your housing,” Patel said in a post on the social media platform (now deleted).
A number of prominent Trump supporters slammed Patel, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and billionaire Elon Musk.
Tesla CEO Musk also called the move “illegal” in a post on social platform X.
However, in a community note on his own platform, he pointed out that while foreign nationals cannot spend or receive money in federal election campaigns, there is no law prohibiting unpaid volunteer work in support of candidates.
Still, Green and others cried Friday.
“Foreigners should not be allowed to interfere in US elections under any circumstances. I want them to return to the UK and solve for themselves the mass immigration problem that is ruining their country,” Green wrote to X.
Georgia Representative Mike Collins also called the move “foreign interference with elections.”
Nigel Farage, a member of the British parliament who helped lead the campaign to leave the EU, made a similar argument, calling it “particularly foolish if Trump wins” and questioning: “Who is going to pay for this?”
Farage attended this summer's Republican National Convention with British Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss, and in 2020 he campaigned for Trump at a rally in Arizona.
Under federal election law, foreign nationals are prohibited from “participating in decision-making” and “providing substantial assistance,” both of which primarily involve involvement in financial transactions.
The Labor Party volunteers are traveling in a personal capacity, a person familiar with the matter told The Hill. They will have to pay for their own travel expenses, but accommodations will be provided by Democratic campaign volunteers, The Hill has learned.
The British Embassy in Washington DC declined to comment and referred inquiries to the Labor Party Press Office. Labor did not respond to The Hill's request for comment. Harris' campaign declined to comment.
The pushback from Republicans comes just a month after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr Starmer, who was elected in July and became the first Labor prime minister since 2010, attended a two-hour dinner at Trump Tower and stressed the importance of continuing to develop the strong and lasting partnership between our two countries. We talked about sexuality.
Starmer also met with President Biden at the White House in September. They discussed “a variety of global issues of mutual interest.”
Updated: 3:56 p.m.
