Donald Trump hailed Nigel Farage as a "great guy" during his interview with Michael Gove for The Times in England.
The president-elect mentioned Farage - who he referred to as "our Nigel" - spontaneously after being asked how much he was looking forward to meeting Theresa May.
Mr Farage appeared at rallies in support of Mr Trump during the US presidential election campaign and was the first British politician to visit him following his victory.
Mr Trump later tweeted that the former Ukip leader would make a good UK ambassador in Washington.
Speaking to Mr Gove, the president-elect asked: "How is our Nigel doing? I like him, I think he's a great guy, I think he's a very good guy and he was very supportive.
"He'd go around the US - he was saying Trump's gonna win. He was one of the earliest people that said Trump was gonna win.
"So, he's gotta feel for it. Michael, you should've written that we were gonna win."