Jacob Rees-Mogg evokes Trump as he says he wants to build a wall in the English Channel

On the campaign trail with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg said he wants to build a wall in the middle of the English channel and questioned the mental acuity of US president Joe Biden.

Mr Rees-Mogg told young Tory activists that he would vote for former US president Trump if he could and that he was right to build the wall along the border with Mexico.

In a leaked recording obtained by The Guardian, he said: “If I were American I’d want the border closed, I’d be all in favour of building a wall. I’d want to build a wall in the middle of the English Channel,” the former cabinet minister said.

Mr Rees-Mogg is currently campaigning hard to regain his North East Somerset and Hanham seat amid a strong challenge from Labour’s Dan Norris.

He’s not the only member of the Tory party who has previously admitted his admiration for Mr Trump. Former prime minister Liz Truss has backed Mr Trump to win the presidential election this year and said the world was “safer” when he was in the White House.

In comments to the BBC in April, she said: “I’m not saying that I agree with absolutely everything he’s ever said.”

But added: “I do agree that under Donald Trump when he was president of the United States, the world was safer.

“I want to work with fellow conservatives to take on what I believe is a real threat of Western society and civilization being undermined by left-wing extreme ideas.”

Boris Johnson said Mr Trump’s return could be a “big win for the world” and Miriam Cates has also expressed support for the former US president.

Speaking before a pub crawl in March organised by a Young Conservative group, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “Every so often, I slightly peek over the parapet, like that image from the second world war of the man looking over the wall, and say if I were an American, I would vote for Donald Trump and it’s always the most unpopular thing I ever say in British politics, but I’m afraid it’s true. I would definitely vote for Donald Trump against Joe Biden.”

He added that Mr Biden “doesn’t like Britain” and said that he worried about the current US president’s “mental acuity”.

The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is also a big fan of Mr Trump, having been the first UK politician to meet him after his 2016 White House election victory.

Prior to his decision to join Reform UK earlier this month, the party’s candidate for Clacton had said he planned to help Mr Trump with his presidential campaign this year.

But he has since admitted: “If I’m elected the MP for Clacton, and I’m there every Friday … it’ll become more difficult but not impossible.”

The Independent has contacted Mr Rees-Mogg for comment.