Donald Trump is skipping the second Republican presidential debate later this month, but there’s one person he’d like to meet for a head-to-head duel: Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
The former president told radio host Hugh Hewitt he would “love” to debate Meghan, noting that he “didn’t like the way she handled the Queen.”
And he noted that the Queen, who was 96 when she died, was much sharper at her age than President Joe Biden was at 80.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden as “Sleepy Joe,” and he has previously criticized Meghan and Harry for being “disrespectful” to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Donald Trump is skipping the Republican debate but said he would like to debate with Meghan Markle
But Trump did admit that he would like to meet Meghan about the debate state.
‘Let’s set it up. Let’s go do something. I’d love to debate with her. I would love it,” Trump told Hewitt Wednesday morning.
“I didn’t like the way she treated the Queen. I became very close friends with the Queen. She was an incredible woman,” Trump said. “I don’t think it’s a good situation with those two, but I didn’t know they don’t like me. Someone said it might be possible. They won’t be the only ones.’
Trump paid tribute to the late Queen in an op-ed for DailyMail.com.
He met the Queen during a state visit to Britain in June 2019. At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were still members of the royal family.
But Meghan, who had been an outspoken critic of Trump and his policies before marrying Harry, skipped the state events, citing her maternity leave. She had recently given birth to their oldest child, Archie.
In the interview, Trump also compared the Queen’s cognitive abilities to Biden.
“At 95 years old, she was so sharp. She was 100%. When you look at Biden, you’re saying this is a different planet,” he said.
Biden met the Queen in June 2021, shortly after becoming president, when he was in England for the G7 summit.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, during the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards in May
Donald Trump, the Queen, Melania Trump and the then Duke and Duchess of Cornwall at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019
Biden and Jill Biden attended her funeral, but only the first lady attended King Charles’s coronation, for which Trump criticized Biden.
Trump suggested in an interview with Nigel Farage in March that his 80-year-old political rival was “physically” unable to make the trip, saying that if he were president, he would have gone.
He said, “I think it’s hard for him physically. I think I should come here for him.
“He has a lot of things to do and a lot of strange things happening. But he should definitely be here as a representative of our country. I was surprised when I heard he wasn’t coming.
“You’d think he’d be here, he’ll be in Delaware where he spends a lot of time, he spent a lot of time there during the election.
“So I don’t know, but I was very surprised to see that I think it’s very disrespectful to him not to.”
He added: “That man is incompetent, and that’s a shame.
“He can’t even come to your coronation as a country, and your coronation is a great event.
“If you have someone who goes to sleep instead of coming to the coronation as President of the United States, I think that’s a bad thing.
‘The reason is that he is sleeping. It shouldn’t happen. It’s disrespectful.
During Trump’s 2019 state visit to Britain, Prince Harry speaks with Ivanka Trump; Meghan was on maternity leave
Donald Trump with Queen Elizabeth during the June 2019 state visit, with Harry and Ivanka visible behind them
President Joe Biden and Jill Biden met the Queen in June 2021
When asked by Farage if he would have attended if he were president, Trump said, “I would.”
He added: ‘I think it’s a very important event. I think it’s a great thing. A lot of people talk about the monarchy if you have it, if you don’t, I think it’s a wonderful thing. It keeps your country together for the most part.’
Trump skipped the first Republican presidential primary debate and has said he would skip the second.
He and his allies have argued that with his double-digit lead in the polls, he does not need to appear alongside the other contenders, none of whom come close to him in the polls.
The Republican National Committee would consider Alabama as the site for the third debate. Trump is very popular in that state and it is close to his home in Florida.
The former president told Hewitt he would consider attending.
“Well, I won Alabama by the highest number anyone has ever won, which is very interesting, because I set a record in Alabama,” he said, adding: “I will make that decision. I would love to go to anything Alabama related. But if you’re 50 points ahead…”
The second Republican presidential primary debate will take place on September 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
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