President Trump has suggested Meghan Markle should toughen up after the Duchess of Sussex admitted she’s struggling under the intense media glare in the United Kingdom.
In an interview Thursday with London-based radio station LBC, the president was asked if he feels sorry for Meghan.
Trump responded by telling interviewer Nigel Farage that the former Suits actress appears to take negative press coverage “very personally.”
“I’ve been watching her interviews and I’ve seen it and she’s taking it very personally,” Trump said. “I guess you have to be a little bit different than that, but she takes it very, very personally, and I can understand it.”
[Listen to the interview below at the 7:16 mark]
Trump’s comments were surprising considering he regularly bashes the media on Twitter over negative coverage and has branded stories from CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and the Washington Post “fake news.”
Related Story: Meghan Markle Gets Emotional When Asked About Intense Media Scrutiny
Trump added that he doesn’t know Meghan, but said he was impressed with the rest of the royal family when he met them during a state visit to the U.K. in June. The duchess was on maternity leave at the time.
“I got to meet Harry and he is really a fine young man the whole family is, I think the whole family is terrific,” he said. “It’s a great family.”
Trump’s remarks came a week after ABC aired an ITV interview with Meghan and Harry about their recent tour of Africa. As she fought back tears, Meghan admitted she is struggling with the intense media scrutiny as she adjusts to being a new mom, wife and duchess.
“Look, any woman, especially when they are pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging,” she said.
“Then when you have a newborn… it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed, it’s well…” Meghan added as her voice trailed off.
The duchess filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the Mail on Sunday, for publishing a private letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle.