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There’s no reason for Donald Trump to have a feud with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but he does. The former president instigated the matter earlier this year by claiming he would deport the Duke of Sussex if he won the presidential election in November. That irrelevant issue died down quickly, but another Trump family member decided to resurrect the topic during an Aug. 4 appearance with GB News.
Eric Trump decided that the Sussexes should be one of his father’s major talking points if he’s elected back to the White House. “What I can tell you is, my father had so much respect for the queen, as did I. My mum knew so many of them for years and had a great relationship with Diana,” Eric said. “It’s a sacred institution. You can happily have those two [Meghan and Harry], we might not want them anymore, it feels like they’re on an island of their own.” It’s lovely that he has respect for the royal institution, but Harry and Meghan should not be a part of any U.S. president’s domestic policy.
“You can always have bad actors in everything. You can have spoiled apples in every orchard,” Eric added for dramatic effect. But let’s go back to why the Trumps are even talking about the stateside duo, to begin with. Donald Trump inserted himself into the Harry conversation back in February when he said he would revoke the royal’s visa for admitting that he used drugs in his 2023 memoir, Spare. The conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, debated that his immigration status was illegal because of that admission — and the Department of Homeland Security sided with Prince Harry. “The book isn’t sworn testimony or proof, saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true,” Jon Bardo, the legal representative for the DHS in court said at a hearing.
“I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable,” the former president told the Express at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year. “He would be on his own if it was down to me.” Yet Donald Trump failed to fact-check himself because Prince Harry’s visa was approved under his 2020 administration. Talk about awkward! However, an immigration lawyer for The Daily Beast noted that a Republican presidential win could make the Duke of Sussex’s visa an issue.
“Department of State decisions are discretionary and very susceptible to political influence. His visa could be canceled. He could be denied entry upon return to the U.S. from foreign travel for inadmissibility due to prior drug usage, despite an unexpired visa in his passport,” they said. “There are many scenarios where political influence could impact Harry’s ability to re-enter the U.S.” What makes this whole situation even stranger is why there are political sides to Harry and Meghan’s exit from the palace — Republicans are royalists and the Democrats welcomed the couple with open arms. It’s best not to draw a political line in the sand over what seems to be a Trump feud made for the publicity and headlines only.
Before you go, click here to see every time Queen Elizabeth has met the US Presidents!
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