Since George Washington, presidents have trusted Wall Street and Main Street leaders to put the nation’s books in order, juice the economy or bring efficiency to a lumbering bureaucracy.

Nigel Farage said he did not want to “go to war” with US billionaire Elon Musk who said he should be replaced as Reform UK leader having previously backed him. Farage said he instead wanted to “mend broken fences” and made clear he would seek to do this when he travels to America for four or five days and Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president later this month.