Meghan Markle ignited Donald Trump spat with savage comments ahead of first presidency

Meghan Markle furiously slammed Donald Trump when the scandal-hit reality star launched his first bid for presidency in 2016 and their war of words has not stopped since

The Duchess of Sussex first launched her fierce attack on the scandal-hit President in 2016 when he first decided to run for US office, going against Hillary Clinton. But since then, the former actress and Trump have been locked in a war of words and despite Trump being complimentary towards The Royal Family, it’s fair to say Meghan and Prince Harry are not at the top of his Christmas card, or even inauguration invite list.

In 2016, while appearing in Suits, Meghan branded Trump “misogynistic” and “divisive”. Speaking on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, she hit out at the former The Apprentice star. When speaking about the upcoming election between Trump and Clinton, the Duchess offered a stern warning to Americans.

“You don’t really want that kind of world,” she said while addressing viewers and discouraging them from voting for Trump. But this was just the start of their feud. Three years later in 2019, Meghan had cemented herself as a popular member of The Firm having married Harry just one year earlier.’

Meghan has never shied away from sharing her thoughts on Donald Trump ( Image: Chris Jackson Collection)

Trump was once a fan of Harry and Meghan but that rapidly changed ( Image: Getty Images)

Trump was in the UK on a State Visit and had planned to meet various members of the family. However, it coincided with Meghan’s maternity leave during her pregnancy with Prince Archie and she was therefore not able to meet the President. But, Trump said that Meghan was “very nice” and Harry was a “terrific guy”.

Just one year later, Harry and Meghan shocked the globe by announcing their decision to step down as senior working royals and would be living a financially independent life. Initially, they moved to Canada, where his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth was head of state. But just months later, they decided to move to California, where Meghan was born and raised.

Questions soon started mounting over who would pay for their round the clock security, given Harry’s senior position within the line of succession. Trump, had other ideas though and was adamant that the United States taxpayer wouldn’t be responsible. Rather than issuing a statement from the White House, he took to X, formerly known as Twitter.

He fumed in 2020 that the US taxpayer wouldn’t foot the bill for Harry and Meghan’s security in the States ( Image: Getty Images)

He fumed in March 2020: “I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!” Harry and Meghan, however, had never intended to have the US taxpayer foot the bill.

Shortly after Harry and Meghan moved to California, Trump was up for reelection at the end of his first term in office and went head-to-head with President Joe Biden, who today leaves office. During the campaign, the Sussexes appeared in a video urging Americans to ‘vote against hate speech’.

The couple did not specifically mention anyone by name, the remarks were interpreted as referring to Trump and therefore an endorsement of Biden, with some claiming it was a breach of the Sandringham Summit agreement, which was written up when the couple quit their royal duties in 2020. Later Mr Trump spoke out saying he was “no fan” of Meghan and added: “I wish a lot of luck to Harry, he’s going to need it.”

After losing that 2020 vote, Trump then hit out at Harry in several interviews when he was asked about the Royal Family. He told Nigel Farage in 2021 that Harry’s marriage had “ruined his relationship with his family” and that it “hurts the Queen”. Last year, Harry has found himself in the centre of a row over his visa, which allows him to live in California. After admitting to using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his controversial memoir Spare, a lawsuit from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation argued that the US Government should release records about the Duke’s US visa application to show whether his drug use was disclosed.

Before a ruling was made in the case, Mr Trump raged at the Biden administration for maintaining the privacy of Harry’s immigration application in order to “protect Harry.” He told the Express US: “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”

He told Farage that there would be “no special privileges” for Harry and that “appropriate action” would be taken if it emerged that he had lied. In his bombshell memoir, Harry confessed that cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.” He also recounts an experience with magic mushrooms, saying: “I stared at the bin. It stared back. ‘What-staring? ‘ Then it became… a head. I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin.”

US visa applications specifically ask the individual about current and past drug use, which can have a detrimental impact on the progress of the application. Prolific drug use can lead to applications being rejected, however, immigration officers use their discretion against a range of factors.