'Monty Python twist': MS NOW in awe as Trump ally forced to run against a trash can

MS NOW anchor Katy Tur could hardly keep a straight face this week as she walked viewers through the strange fate of one of President Donald Trump's most loyal foreign allies, who is now on track to campaign against a man wearing a trash can on his head.

The ally is Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom's hard-right Reform party, who resigned his seat in Parliament this week amid an investigation into millions of pounds in undisclosed gifts from wealthy backers. Farage, who has denied any wrongdoing, quit to trigger a special election he can re-contest. Tur and much of the British political class read the move as a thinly veiled attempt to sidestep the scrutiny and paint himself as a victim of the liberal establishment.

The gambit quickly backfired.

Every major U.K. party refused to field a candidate, calling it a stunt, which left Farage's only declared opponent a satirical figure who wears a bin over his head and goes by Count Binface.

"In a twist only a Monty Python writer could deliver," Tur said, "Farage will be running against a trash can."

Behind the costume is comedian Jon Harvey, whose intergalactic-space-warrior character has needled British politicians for years, running against Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, and against Theresa May earlier under his previous guise, Lord Buckethead. His pledges include reviving the Ceefax teletext service, building at least one affordable house, and forcing cyclists who break traffic laws to ride unicycles.

Asked by the BBC why a space warrior wanted the Clacton seat, Binface breezily saw no reason not to, and admitted he had never visited, joking he understood from Farage that staying away was part of the job.

The vote is expected around Aug. 6.

"The U.S. isn't the only place where politics can feel like a flying circus," Tur quipped.