Donald Trump denies calling Duchess of Sussex ‘nasty’ ahead of UK visit

Donald Trump has denied calling Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, “nasty” despite the comments coming from a recorded interview.

Mr Trump was asked by The Sun’s political editor about the Duchess’s comments about him before he took office, and before she married Prince Harry, in which she said she might move to Canada if he won election.

He claimed he had never heard the remarks before, and said: “What can I say? I didn’t know that she was nasty.”

The comment has sparked outrage, but the US president, who is starting a three-day state visit to the UK on Monday, has now denied them.

Tweeting about the interview, he said: “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!”

Tom Newton-Dunn, who conducted the interview, tweeted: “Did @realDonaldTrump mean Meghan was a nasty person, or just that she had been nasty to him? Judge for yourself with the full audio of our exchange on the Royals.”

In the rest of the latest interview with The Sun, Mr Trump went on to say he hoped Meghan was “OK” and that he thought it was “nice” that she had married into the Royal Family.

It is not entirely clear if Mr Trump was referring to her or simply her comments during the interview.

It comes after the duchess previously called Mr Trump “divisive” and said his election could be “the moment I go”. Suits, the show she starred in before she married Prince Harry, was filmed in Toronto, so she said she would stay there instead.

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However, despite the comments, the pair will not meet during this state visit.

The Duchess of Sussex will not be joining her in-laws or her husband at the banquet to welcome Mr Trump with her son Archie barely four weeks old.

(c) Sky News 2019: Donald Trump denies calling Duchess of Sussex ‘nasty’ ahead of UK visit