In yet another one of his “the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears” moments, President Donald Trump is denying that he called Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle “nasty.” His original remarks surfaced via an interview with the British newspaper The Sun on Friday, ahead of a planned visit to the United Kingdom to meet with the Royal Family.
When asked about Markle’s previous comments that she would move to Canada if the former Apprentice star won the 2016 election, Trump seemed taken aback.
“I did not know that, no. A lot of people are moving here, so what can I say?” he told the reporter. “No, I didn’t know that she was nasty.”
To give him the tiniest amount of credit, he then added, “I think it is nice and I’m sure she will do excellently,” when asked what he thought of an American princess.
By Sunday morning, Trump was singing a different tune. Sort of! “I never called Meghan Markle ‘nasty,'” he fired off on Twitter. “Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold!” He then posed a question asking if CNN, the New York Times, and others would apologize.
“Doubt it!” he concluded.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2019
The only problem with his tweet is that … well, there is audio in which he very clearly says this — released by his own War Room Twitter account, no less. Although his vitriol is unusually toned down, he very clearly says it. Whether he meant that she, herself, was nasty — or her remarks directed at him were nasty — is debatable. Otherwise, there is not much room for interpretation.
Fake News CNN is at it again, falsely claiming President Trump called Meghan Markle "nasty." Here is what he actually said. Listen for yourself! pic.twitter.com/kLuPXBLMhf
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 1, 2019
So, once again, people jumped into the fray on Twitter to call out the president on a flagrant lie.
Dude is on video calling Meghan Markle "nasty" and he’s still denying it. This is not just another blatant Trump lie; this is some next level pathological disorder he’s dealing with. https://t.co/rHDibcpMwx
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 2, 2019
MISOGYNY: Trump calling Meghan Markle “nasty.”
STUPIDITY: Trump calling a member of the royal family names before a state visit.
INCOMPETENCE: The White House denying the remark with a video containing it.
PATHOLOGY: Trump still lying about it here. https://t.co/FakKoMfkSv
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) June 2, 2019
When the President of the United States tells us not to believe something we saw or heard, Orwell winks at us from his grave https://t.co/AlbcgJOMgb
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) June 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1135186924023496705
Donald Trump claims he never called Meghan Markle "nasty," but here's the actual audio of him doing it, provided by his own campaign account @TrumpWarRoom. pic.twitter.com/upsLTutIcF
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) June 2, 2019
3/ Uhh, yes you did. https://t.co/3bU5735CzS
— Bad Fox Graphics (@BadFoxGraphics) June 2, 2019
He’s forgetting what he said just a few days earlier.
Dementia getting worse.
He needs an intervention, like Pelosi said.— MelissaJPeltier (@MelissaJPeltier) June 2, 2019
44,000 people liked this. And the "nasty" comment is literally ON TAPE. Easily accessible. For everyone to hear. Seriously, what is wrong with people? https://t.co/ey6exa9Zgb
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) June 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/Green_Footballs/status/1135216648556666881
It's literally on tape. https://t.co/7DcWf7mMX7
— Translate Things (@TranslateThings) June 2, 2019
It’s unclear if this latest controversy will disrupt Trump’s plans to meet with the Royals, but at the very least, it might make for some very awkward conversation over tea.