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President Trump explains 'nasty' comment about Meghan Markle

The president says the Duchess of Sussex is "doing a good job" and that he thinks "she's very nice."
/ Source: TODAY

President Donald Trump appears to be trying to clear things up with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Trump spoke with "Good Morning Britain" host Piers Morgan on Wednesday about his comment calling the former Meghan Markle "nasty" in a previous interview with U.K. newspaper The Sun ahead of his state visit to the United Kingdom.

"I wasn't referring to her — she's nasty,'' he told Morgan. "I said she was nasty about me. And essentially I didn't know she was nasty about me.

"So I said, she's doing a good job, I hope she enjoys her life. I think she's very nice. I'll have to be honest, I don't know her."

Trump was initially responding to comments the future duchess made around the time of the 2016 election when she called then-candidate Trump "divisive" in an appearance on Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore."

"I didn't know that," Trump said to The Sun in response. "What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty."

Trump later denied making the comments to The Sun despite the audio of the interview being made public, tweeting Sunday morning that "I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty.'''

He tried to clarify his remarks Wednesday.

"What happens is they talked about nasty, but when you're talking about nasty, she was nasty to me,'' he said. "And that's OK for her to be nasty, it's not good for me to be nasty to her, and I wasn't, and in fact I think she's doing very well."

However, he also appeared to reiterate his stance.

"What she said was nasty based on what they told me,'' he said.

Trump also spoke about his interactions with Meghan's husband, Prince Harry, during his trip.

"I congratulated him, and I think he's a terrific guy,'' he said. "The royal family is really nice."

Trump also addressed reports of a frosty reception from Harry, who was present for a private lunch Monday that included Trump.

"No, no, no, just the opposite,'' Trump said. "In fact, he spent a lot of time talking to Ivanka and talking to my family. He couldn't have been nicer. Couldn't have been nicer. I think he's great."