Trump Campaign Files Complaint: 'The British Are Coming'

Campaign accuses UK's ruling party of 'blatant foreign interference' in election
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 23, 2024 1:40 PM CDT
Trump Accuses UK's Ruling Party of Election Interference
Donald Trump gestures to supporters at a campaign rally at Greensboro Coliseum, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, NC.   (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

"The British are coming," Donald Trump's campaign said in a news release Tuesday night that accused Kamala Harris' campaign of accepting "illegal foreign assistance" from the UK's ruling Labour Party. The campaign said it had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the Harris campaign and the Labour Party, the Financial Times reports. The complaint accuses the British party of engaging in "blatant foreign interference" by sending strategists to assist the Harris campaign.

  • Trump campaign invokes 1776. "When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them," the news release reads. In the complaint, the campaign said this week marked the 243rd anniversary "of the surrender of British forces at the Battle of Yorktown, a military victory that ensured that the United States would be politically independent of Great Britian(sic)." Campaign co-chair Susie Wiles said: "In two weeks, Americans will once again reject the oppression of big government that we rejected in 1776."

  • The Harris-Labour links. The complaint included a now-deleted LinkedIn post from Sonia Patel, the Labour Party's head of operations, Time reports. She said there are "nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former)" going to swing states in the next few weeks. She added that there were 10 spots available for people to go to North Carolina, and "we will sort your housing." The Trump campaign argues that the housing offer is an illegal foreign contribution to the Harris campaign.
  • Labour denies wrongdoing. "It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections," a party spokesperson said, per Politico. "Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules."
  • Complaint called a "stunt." Former Labour activist Matthew McGregor, who volunteered for Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, tells the BBC that the complaint is "nothing more than a political stunt." He said that instead of having housing paid for, volunteers usually stay on the sofas of Democratic activists.

  • Starmer says it won't affect Trump relationship. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described the Democrats as Labour's "sister party" last year, told reporters that volunteers "have gone over pretty much every election" and no laws are broken. Asked by the BBC if the issue would affect his relationship with a possible second Trump administration, he said it wouldn't, adding that he "established a good relationship" with Trump when they had dinner at Trump Tower last month.
  • 'Reverse ferret mode.' Politico reports that Labour went into "reverse ferret mode"—a British term for a sudden reversal in position—after Patel's post caused an uproar in pro-Trump media over the weekend. Insiders say Labour shut down central coordination of volunteers and Patel is "getting a ton of blowback."
(More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

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