Trump says Duchess Meghan was ‘nasty’ about him, fueling debate in the U.K. ahead of his state visit - The Washington Post

American actress Meghan Markle and Britain's Prince Harry at their wedding on May 19, 2018. (Gareth Fuller/Pool via AP)

June 1 at 2:53 PM

President Trump sparked a new debate in Britain this past week, after calling comments made in the past by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “nasty,” in an interview with the Sun tabloid.

During the 2016 election campaign, the duchess — then Meghan Markle — called Trump “misogynistic” and “divisive.” The American actress also said she might move to Canada if Trump was elected president. Instead, two years on, she married Britain’s Prince Harry and became part of the royal family.

Suggesting that he had been unaware of the duchess’s 2016 remarks ahead of preparations for his upcoming state visit to Britain and his royal reception on Monday, Trump said in an audio recording released by the Sun: “I didn’t know that she was nasty.”

[Britain is at its most delicate political moment in years. Now here comes Trump.]

Trump had previously used the word to describe his Democratic opponent during the 2016 campaign, calling Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” — words that later became a rallying cry for the anti-Trump movement.

But this time, Trump refrained from provoking a full-blown spat, quickly emphasizing in the same interview with the Sun that “I am sure she will do excellently” as a duchess.

Trump’s remarks ahead of the trip echoed concerns voiced in the lead-up to Meghan’s wedding with Harry: that her past political activism may make things awkward for the royal family, which is not supposed to voice public political views. She started to speak out against sexism as a child and never hid her other personal convictions throughout her acting career, including thoughts on U.S. politics. As member of the British royal family, Meghan has already strayed further into political territory than others, for instance by speaking out against racism, which she herself has faced in recent months.

While her past comments are a nightmare for those knowing the ins and outs of royal protocol, the British public may have a different take. “You know, we don’t care what he thinks about us,” British lawyer and political activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu told Sky News on Saturday. “Women are going to stand up together and speak out against the lunacy of his presidency,” she said of Trump.

The president has faced major resistance in Europe in the past, and a “Trump Baby” balloon greeted the president when he visited Britain last July during a four-day working visit, to the cheers of bystanders.

A protester holds a sign as the 'Trump Baby,' a six-meter-high, helium-filled effigy of President Trump, flies over Parliament Square in London on Friday, July 13, 2018. (Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg News)

Trump’s state visit, which begins Monday, has been repeatedly delayed. He was originally invited shortly after taking office in 2017. Trump also plans to attend ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings while visiting Britain and France.

Meghan, who is still on maternity leave, and Trump will not meet during the president’s visit to Britain. Harry is expected to attend, according to British media.

As a biracial and divorced American, Meghan’s biography has vastly differed from the life experiences that have so far dominated the halls of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Opening up traditions and acknowledging that even royals can have opinions, her supporters said, has infused royal traditions with a more human and natural touch.

When Harry and Meghan launched their Instagram account in early April, the handle immediately broke records, reaching 1 million followers within less than 6 hours. Many of the couple’s fans are from the United States, where almost 30 million watched their wedding last year, compared to about 23 million who watched Kate Middleton wed Prince William back in 2011. The birth of Harry and Meghan’s first baby, Archie, was celebrated by fans around the globe this May.

Meghan’s popularity in the United States could prove to be an opportunity for a royal family, as evidence that the expensive traditions remain a cornerstone of British influence abroad. But it could also become a pitfall, given that not everyone across the Atlantic agrees with her political views.

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