Former UK PM storms off stage after banner prank (VIDEO)

Liz Truss was promoting her new book when campaigners unfurled a banner reading “I crashed the economy”

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss stormed out of an event on Tuesday organized around the release of her new book after activists unfurled a remote-controlled banner on stage featuring a large lettuce head with googly eyes. 

Truss, who led the UK for just over a month back in 2022, was discussing the US presidential election during an event in Suffolk and was expressing her support for former US President Donald Trump.  

“I support Trump and I want him to win,” Truss told the audience, adding that she believes that the “average American is not doing well.” 

Shortly thereafter, the lettuce banner started unfurling behind the PM, which also featured the phrase: “I crashed the economy.” As some members of the audience laughed, the event host told Truss that he had “no idea” where the banner came from. The Former PM said “that’s not funny” before taking off her microphone and leaving the stage. 

We just dropped in on Liz Truss’s pro-Trump speaking tour with a remote-controlled lettuce banner. She didn’t find it funny. 🥬 pic.twitter.com/jtSqaxycfF

— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) August 13, 2024

A video clip of the incident has been shared by the Led By Donkeys campaign group, which has admitted responsibility for the prank. Last year, the group also used a remote-controlled banner to prank Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. 

Read more

Tory heavyweights lose seats in election wipeout

The stunt at the Truss event was apparently referencing a challenge set by British news outlet the Daily Star in October 2022 to see if her premiership could outlast the shelf life of a head of iceberg lettuce. The salad leaves eventually held out longer than Truss, who resigned after just 49 days in office amid widespread outrage over her botched mini-budget, which caused a political and economic crisis in the UK. 

Last month, Truss also lost her seat in the House of Commons along with several other Tory heavyweights, including 11 cabinet ministers, as the Labour party secured a landslide victory in the elections over the once-dominant Conservatives.