1:22
- ABC News
- Royal Family
- June 2, 2019
Trump states he called Meghan Markle 'nasty'
The White House weighed in on Trump's previous comments ahead of trip to the UK.
1:22
A debate over the president’s comments ignited over the weekend.
In the interview, a Sun journalist asked the president if he was sorry to miss the Duchess of Sussex, who is on maternity leave, in light of her past criticism of him. He cited a 2016 Comedy Central interview in which Markle, who was an actress at the time, said she would move to Canada if Trump was elected president. In that interview, Markle also called the president “divisive” and “misogynistic.”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/harry-meghan-baby-9-ap-ps-190508_hpEmbed_6x7_384.jpg\")
“No, I didn’t know that she was nasty,” the president replied.
In his interview with The Sun, President Trump then went on to wish her well.
“I’m sure she will do excellently. She will be very good. She will be very good. I hope she does,” the president said when asked about how he felt about having an American as part of the royal family.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/donald-trump-south-lawn-ap-jc-190524_hpEmbed_3_3x2_384.jpg\")
An audio recording of the Sun's interview was later posted on their site.
A White House official told ABC News the quote was taken out of context by the media, adding the president wasn’t specifically saying she was nasty. Instead, the official said the president meant he was not aware of previous comments made by Markle. The White House official also pointed out the president said very nice things about the duchess including that he thought she would do an excellent job.
That sentiment was echoed by a spokesperson for the president’s reelection campaign.
“Any fair observer of President Trump's comments can clearly hear that President Trump was saying that he was not aware of previous comments made by Meghan Markle,” Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said to ABC News in a statement.
“He then went on to say that Markle will 'do excellently' and 'be very good' in her role as Duchess of Sussex. The distortion and mistruths from the media are shameful,” she added.
ABC News' Will Steakin contributed to this report.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-denies-called-meghan-markle-nasty-ahead-uk/story?id=63432817","legacySlug":"/news/story/trump-denies-called-meghan-markle-nasty-ahead-uk-63432817","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:08","publishDate":"06-02-2019","updatedTime":"06:04","updatedDate":"06-03-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"President Donald Trump speaks about immigration reform in the Rose Garden of the White House, May 16, 2019. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits New Zealand House to sign a book of condolence on behalf of The Royal Family following the recent terror attack which saw at least 50 people killed at a Mosque in Christchurch, March 19, 2019, in London.","credit":"Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-markle-gty-er-190602_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"6/2/2019 16:08:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":63432817,"headline":"Trump states he called Meghan Markle 'nasty'","mediaAssetTitle":"Trump vs. Meghan","description":"The White House weighed in on Trump's previous comments ahead of trip to the UK.","duration":"1:22","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/06/190601_wn_eccleston_648_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132055565","131830882","130993584"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Trump states he called Meghan Markle 'nasty'","description":"The White House weighed in on Trump's previous comments ahead of trip to the UK.","duration":"1:22","uploadDate":"06-02-2019","publication":"06-02-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/06/190601_wn_eccleston_648_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/06/190601_wn_eccleston_648_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/trump-denies-called-meghan-markle-nasty-ahead-uk-63432817"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Trump states he called Meghan Markle 'nasty'","pubTime":"12:08","pubDate":"06-02-2019","modTime":"02:04","modDate":"06-03-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":63432817,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Trump states he called Meghan Markle 'nasty'","mediaAssetTitle":"Trump vs. Meghan","videoId":63432817,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/trump-denies-called-meghan-markle-nasty-ahead-uk-63432817"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/63432817","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/63432817","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};