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Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest. I’m Tara
Palmeri.

In tonight’s issue, my conversation with Raheem Kassam, the former longtime Nigel Farage deputy and newish editor-in-chief of The National Pulse. I met Kassam nearly nine years ago at the United Kingdom Independence Party conference in Doncaster—a former Labour town you’ve probably never heard of—where I was covering Brexit for Politico Europe.
Kassam and I witnessed the first wave of the populist movement in 2016 with Britain’s exit from the E.U. amid a surge of anti-immigration sentiment.

When we reunited this week on my podcast, Somebody’s Gotta Win, Kassam didn’t hold back in his criticism of Elon Musk’s plans for European domination and his recent social media assault on his old boss Farage, who was hoping to win some Musk bucks for his Reform UK party. Farage was uncharacteristically at a loss
for words when Elon called on him to step down, saying that he was “surprised” to hear this from someone he has called a “friend.” Kassam’s thoughts, below the fold.  

But first, here’s Abby with an update on A.O.C.’s ongoing redemption tour…