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Donald Trump says he thinks it’s time that the queen got tough with her grandson.
In an interview with UK presenter Piers Morgan on his new channel TalkTV, the former US president didn’t mince his words as he mocked the Duke of Sussex for allowing himself to be “henpecked” by his wife.
Trump (75) admonished the sixth-in-line to the throne, who along with his American wife stepped away from royal duty in early 2020, for being “so disrespectful to the country”.
He added that Harry (37) had been “led down a path”, seeming to be a reference to ambitious Meghan (40), and that the queen should never let him back into England.
“I’m not a fan of Meghan,” he said. “I’m not a fan and I wasn’t right from the beginning. I think poor Harry is being led around by his nose. And I think he’s an embarrassment. And I think she spoke badly of the royal family but in particular the Queen.”
The former president met with the queen at Windsor Castle in 2018 during his official four-day visit to the UK.
Afterwards he heaped praise on her, describing her as a “tremendous woman”.
“If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman,” he told The Sun.
Now he says the only thing he can criticise her for is not taking a firmer stance with her grandson and his wife.
“The only thing I disagree with the queen on, probably one of the only things ever, is that I think she should have said, ‘If that’s your choice, fine. But you no longer have titles.’”
Clearly Trump hasn’t forgiven Meghan for remarks she made back in 2016 during his presidential run in which she branded him “misogynistic” and “divisive”.
These comments were rehashed in the media after her marriage to Harry in 2018, ahead of Trump’s UK tours, causing a major diplomatic headache for the royal family.
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As a final parting blow, he told Morgan he reckons Harry and Meghan’s five-year marriage won’t last.
“I’ve been a very good predictor, as you know – I’ve predicted almost everything. It’ll end, and it’ll end bad. And I wonder if Harry’s gonna go back on his hands and knees, back into the beautiful city of London and say, ‘Please.’"
Trump’s harsh critique comes as Harry faces a fresh round of controversy for his bombshell interview with NBC’s Today Show in which he claimed he was doing everything he could to ensure the queen is “protected and got the right people around her”.
He revealed in his interview with US presenter Hoda Kotb that he and Meghan had secretly visited the queen on their way to Europe for the Invictus Games recently where they’d enjoyed tea and a chat.
Many have blasted their visit as exploitation of an increasingly frail queen.
They claim the Sussexes, whose public attacks on the monarchy have been well documented, are using their royal links as a PR exercise to boost interest in their upcoming Netflix doccie about the Invictus Games.
Meanwhile Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, has also weighed in, branding Harry “an idiot” for his refusal to travel to the UK for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June due to “security issues”.
Speaking to Dan Wootton on GB News from his home in Mexico, Thomas revealed that he's planning to travel to London during the festivities to “show respect for the queen”.
Like Trump, Thomas thinks Harry is allowing Meghan to call all the shots.
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“I have so little respect for that man. He’s like a child. He follows my daughter around like a child. He’s not a man. You can tell me he was in the military but I can’t believe it. I think he's kind of a wuss and always will be. He’s got a brother that’s a real man and he’s got a father who is a real man. But I don’t think he’s ever growing up.”
Despite this, he’s still nursing the hope that the Sussexes will have a change of heart and decide to visit Britain for the Jubilee so he can get to meet Harry, Archie (2) and 10-month-old Lilibet for the first time.
“I’m getting the feeling that if they know I’m coming, they won’t be coming,” Thomas says. “But if they do come, I’d love to reach out and speak with them and try to figure out what went wrong and how we can repair it.”
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, deadline.com, edition.cnn.com
