The claim is straightforward and well-supported by multiple authoritative sources. Herman Van Rompuy was elected as the first full-time President of the European Council on November 19, 2009, and took office on December 1, 2009, when the Lisbon Treaty came into force. This is confirmed by the official Council of the European Union website, the Official Journal of the European Union, and multiple news outlets including the BBC and The Guardian. Nigel Farage made his "damp rag" comments to Van Rompuy's face on February 24, 2010, during Van Rompuy's maiden appearance in the European Parliament, which is also well-documented. The interview date (December 2, 2011) falls within Van Rompuy's first term as President (December 2009 – May 2012), so as of the interview date, Van Rompuy was indeed the president. Sources: Council of the European Union (consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/former-euco-presidents/herman-van-rompuy/), Official Journal of the European Union (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009D0879), BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8535121.stm), The Guardian (theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/25/nigel-farage-herman-van-rompuy-damp-rag)