Donald Trump's Beef With Prince Harry Goes Back Before Megxit
Former president Donald Trump has a penchant for having a bone to pick with a long list of people. He's known to have public feuds with notable figures, including celebrities like Kristen Stewart, Chrissy Teigen, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and Brad Pitt — to even the Pope. Trump has also shown disdain for folks across the pond, particularly Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to bid farewell to their senior royal roles didn't sit well with Trump, who appears to be a self-proclaimed fan of the late Queen Elizabeth. He scoffed at their choice to leave the U.K. and questioned why the couple distanced themselves from the Royal Family. "I think there was great disrespect to a person I got to know and like very well. The Queen — she was unbelievable, you know," he said in an interview with GB News' Nigel Farage. "I thought she was treated very disrespectfully by them. Although she wouldn't show it because she was strong and smart, I imagine they broke her heart. The things that they were saying were so bad and so horrible and she was in her 90s and hearing this stuff. I think they broke her heart."
Why Trump thinks he has any say in the matter is as good as anyone's guess, but his beef with Harry and Meghan isn't yesterday's news. In fact, it dates back to 2019, way before all the Megxit ruckus happened — and it seems to have started with the Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan Markle appears to be the origin of their feud
Donald Trump didn't always despise Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, though. His beef with the pair started in 2019 when a reporter asked Trump's reaction to a 2016 interview in which Markle accused the former president of misogyny and said she would consider moving to Canada if he became president. His response, as expected, was classic Trump, telling The Sun: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty," he said.
A year later, after Harry and Meghan released a video urging Americans to vote, Trump blasted the "Suits" alum once again. "I'm not a fan of hers, and I would say this — and she probably has heard that — but, I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he's going to need it," he said at a press conference (via CBS News).
It's unclear if there are deeper reasons for the beef, but their spat has escalated over time. In an interview with Piers Morgan in 2022, Trump launched another rant, branding Prince Harry as Markle's mere puppet. "Harry is whipped like no person I think I've ever seen," he declared. "I'm not a fan of Meghan... I think poor Harry is being led around by his nose.” He even went so far as to suggest the removal of their royal titles, a move he believed Queen Elizabeth should have enforced. "I think she should have said, 'If that's your choice fine, but you no longer have titles and frankly don't come around,'" he added. "He has been so disrespectful to the country and I think he's an embarrassment."
Does Trump want Prince Harry out of America?
With Donald Trump's sustained aversion to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, you'd think he was the aggrieved party. Of what? No one really knows. But over time, the former president's focus appears to have shifted more toward Prince Harry, particularly in light of the Duke of Sussex's revelations in his memoir "Spare," including his past use of recreational drugs, something that Trump believes should have barred his entry to the U.S. Speaking with Express in February 2024, he thought the Biden administration was "protecting Harry" for refusing to look into his immigration records. "I wouldn't protect him. He betrayed the queen. That's unforgivable," he declared. "He would be on his own if it was down to me."
If he had it his way, he probably would have done everything to kick Harry and his family out of the country. "We'll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they'll have to take appropriate action," he said in his GB News interview. When asked whether "appropriate action" meant deportation for the royal, he said, "Oh, I don't know. You'll have to tell me. You just have to tell me. You would have thought they would have known this a long time ago."