Update!

Donald Trump Responds to Meghan Markle's Criticism: "I Didn't Know That She Was Nasty"

Donald Trump is set to visit the United Kingdom next week and meet members of the royal family, but not the Duchess of Sussex, who was no fan of his in 2016.

By Corinne Heller Jun 02, 2019 7:01 PMTags
Donald Trump, Meghan MarkleShutterstock

UPDATE: Despite his comments heard in The Sun's clear audio recording of the interview, President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday, "I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty.' Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN@nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!"

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Donald Trump is set to visit the United Kingdom next week and have meetings with members of the royal family. Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave after welcoming her and husband Prince Harry's son Archie, is expected to sit those out.

The 37-year-old California-born Duchess of Sussex and former actress is no fan of the Republican President, or at least wasn't just before he was elected in 2016. That year, she said on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore that Trump is "divisive" and "misogynistic" and that she may stay in Canada, where she filmed Suits at the time, if he became president.

In a recorded audio interview with The Sun, released on Friday, Trump was asked if he was sorry he will not be able to meet Meghan, "because she wasn't so nice" about him during the presidential campaign.

"I didn't know that. No, I didn't know that. No, I hope she is OK. I didn't know that, no," he said. "So what can I say? No, I didn't know that she was nasty."

Trump had famously called rival Hillary Clinton a "nasty woman" during a presidential campaign debate in 2016, stirring outrage among Democrats, especially female voters.

When asked if it was good to have an American princess, and if it helps the link between the United States and the U.K., Trump said, "I think it's nice. I think it's nice and I am sure she'll do excellently. She'll be very good. She'll be very good. I hope she does."

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Harry is expected to meet the president during his visit. Multiple reports say he will join Queen Elizabeth II at a lunch for Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, at Buckingham Palace.

The president and the First Lady will also be guests at the queen's state banquet, and other royals such as Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to attend. Trump and his wife are also scheduled to have a private tea with Prince Charles and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

In addition to Meliania, Trump is also planning to bring to the U.K. his adult children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump, and their spouses, according to the New York Times' Maggie Haberman.

Trump had made his first state visit to the U.K. last July. He and Melania met the queen for tea at Windsor Castle. During the trip, the president met U.K. leaders and officials mostly outside of London, where there were mass protests against him.

"It will be great seeing the queen for the second time," Trump told The Sun. "We had a very good talk the first one. We had a lot of interesting things to say. It really was a great visit."

(Originally posted on Saturday, June 1, at 8:01 a.m. PT)