Eric Trump has described Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as "spoiled apples" and offered to "send them back" to Britain in a new interview, as his father continues his bid for reelection in the 2024 presidential race.
Speaking to right wing outlet GB News during a visit to the Trump International Golf Links in Scotland last week, Eric Trump said that his father was a strong ally of the U.K. while going on to praise the monarchy.
"There will be no better ally in the United Kingdom than Donald Trump, I truly mean that," he said. "He loves this nation he loves this country...he's going to be the greatest president for the West the U.K.'s ever seen."
The Trump family, he added, have long-standing relationships with members of the royal family, something interviewer Ben Leo linked back to Harry and Meghan.
Donald Trump has been an outspoken critic of the duke and duchess since their split from the monarchy and move to the U.S. in 2020, saying he's "not a fan" of Meghan and that she was "very disrespectful" to the royal family and Queen Elizabeth II.
Asked whether his father would be in favor of making Prince Harry's visa documentation public if he were president—something the Heritage Foundation has pursued through the legal system in the U.S. after Harry revealed he had a history with illegal drugs in his memoir—Eric Trump said he didn't want to be drawn on the matter, but had a critical assessment of the Sussex couple in general.
"What I can tell you is my father had so much respect for the queen, as did I," he said. "My mom [the late Ivana Trump] knew so many of them for years, I think you probably know that, had a great relationship with Diana and everyone else.
"You know, that's a very sacred institution and you can happily have those two back. We'll happily send them back from America, you can have them back over here, but I'm not sure you guys want them any more than we might not want them anymore. They feel like they're on a little bit of an island of their own.
"But listen, you can always have bad actors in anything, you can always have spoiled apples in every orchard, but the institution of the royal family is beautiful and it's something that is actually admired by a lot of Americans."
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
In 2020, ahead of the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Harry and Meghan faced criticism after they recorded a video message encouraging voter registration.
Though they did not express any partisan bias at the time, Meghan said that the election was "the most important of our lifetime."
Ahead of the 2024 election, speculation has grown as to whether Meghan and Harry will cross into partisan territory and endorse the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, Kamala Harris.
Meghan previously praised the representation Harris brings to politics and prior to becoming vice president in 2020, Harris posted supportive social media messages about the duchess.
So far, no endorsement has come and if the couple follow the royal family's precedent about not taking political sides, it is unlikely to do so.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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