Trump Bids Harry and Meghan Good Riddance
Left 80%
Center 0%
Right 20%
4 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
President Donald Trump told reporters he is "happy" that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are returning to the United Kingdom from the United States, saying he "was not a fan" and that they treated the royal family with "great disrespect." The couple moved back to Britain last week after living in California since 2020, having stepped back from official royal duties; they have not spoken publicly about their plans and are expected to remain private individuals. Trump said he had a "really good" relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II and with King Charles III, and added, "If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back." He also said he "didn't like the way she acted," describing Meghan as "terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles."
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage has Trump aiming his criticism at Meghan Markle personally, while left-leaning coverage treats the same comments as a rebuke of the couple together. The Daily Wire reports he thought she was "terribly disrespectful" to the Queen and to King Charles. The Guardian instead says he thought Harry and Meghan treated the royal family with great disrespect, and does not report him isolating her.
Left-leaning coverage opens on Trump's rapport with the late queen and with King Charles, and on his praise of Charles as a great guy. Right-leaning coverage instead recaps the royal rift that preceded the couple's return and Trump's long-running criticism of Markle, including during the 2020 campaign.
Did Harry, Meghan, or Buckingham Palace respond to the president's remarks?
Bottom line
Every side has Trump pleased the Sussexes left. Only the Daily Wire has him saying Meghan was "terribly disrespectful" to the Queen.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Trump said he did not like the way Meghan acted and thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen and King Charles
- Prince Harry lost his appeal over government-funded security in Britain in 2025
- In July, King Charles III privately met Harry, Meghan, and their children at Highgrove House
- Harry and Meghan will remain private individuals and are not expected to be offered a half-in half-out option
- In 2020 Trump said he was not a fan of Markle and wished Harry luck because he was going to need it
- The king is reportedly looking forward to spending more time with the duke and duchess in a personal capacity
The Left View
Left-leaning outlets framed the remarks as a personal swipe at a couple resuming private life in Britain, setting Trump's longstanding admiration for the monarchy—including a childhood memory of Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation—against palace-facing context. The Guardian reports that King Charles is looking forward to spending more time with Harry and Meghan in a personal capacity, that they will not resume official duties, and that a "half-in half-out" option was rejected by the late queen. Those reports also leave open whether British taxpayers will fund the couple's security. Bloomberg described Trump as celebrating the departure and "taking a dig" at the couple; the BBC highlighted his happiness that they had left the United States.
The Right View
Right-leaning coverage cast the comments as a deserved farewell. The Daily Wire foregrounded Trump's charge that Meghan was "terribly disrespectful" to the late queen and the king, and recalled his 2020 remark that he was "not a fan of hers" and that Harry would "need" luck. It located the return in the couple's public break with the palace—the 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview in which they said an unnamed royal had raised concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin might be, a Netflix documentary, and Harry's memoir "Spare"—and in Harry's estrangement from Prince William. It also noted that after losing a 2025 appeal over government-funded UK security, Harry told the BBC he "would love reconciliation" and that security had "always been the sticking point."
Our Take (balanced)
The left's strongest argument is institutional: reporting that King Charles wants personal time with the couple, that they will stay outside official roles, and that the live public question is who pays for security undercuts a triumphal reading of their return as a repudiation. The right's strongest argument is the public record Trump invoked—the Sussexes' own interview, documentary, and memoir, plus his Meghan-specific quotes and prior 2020 criticism—as evidence that "great disrespect" is a charge they put on the record, not a one-off jab. The central unresolved tension is whether those remarks fairly describe the couple's conduct toward the monarchy or amount to a political outsider cheering a private relocation while the family itself is attempting a limited thaw.
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