Trump Has Proven Once Again Strong Women Like Meghan Markle Get Under His Skin

Not long after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a rare TV appearance to implore Americans to vote and take action against hate this November, President Donald Trump took a swipe at Meghan Markle and made a rude, sexist comment about her marriage with Prince Harry.

On Thursday, two days after Prince Harry and Markle appeared on ABC for TIME's 100 most influential people in 2020 special, Trump was asked by a reporter about the Duchess of Sussex's supposed endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chimed in on the U.S. election and essentially encouraged people to vote for Joe Biden," the reporter said to Trump. "I wanted to get your reaction to that?"

Trump's response? "I'm not a fan of hers," the president said before taking a swipe at her with a sexist old trope about her husband needing lots of "luck" dealing with her. "I would say this — and she has probably has heard that — I wish a lot of luck to Harry because he's going to need it." Then he smirked.

For the record, Markle did not publicly or officially endorse anyone. Nor did her husband. Instead, during the couple's recent television appearance, Markle said the upcoming election is "the most important" to date.

"We're just six weeks out from Election Day and today is National Voter Registration Day," Markle said. "Every four years we're told the same thing that 'this is the most important election of our lifetime.' But this one is. When we vote, our values are put into action, and our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter because you do and deserve to be heard."

Although he can't vote and never has been able to, Prince Harry mirrored his wife's thoughts during their television appearance. "When the bad outweighs the good, for many, whether we realize it or not, it erodes our ability to have compassion and our ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes," he said. "Because when one person buys into negativity online, the effects are felt exponentially. It’s time to not only reflect, but act. As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity.”

The Duke of Sussex has also recently made it clear that he's not a fan of bullying. In August, Prince Harry wrote an op-ed for Fast Company calling out divisive language and bullying on social media, writing "as a father, this is especially concerning to me."

While Markle did not explicitly name Trump during her TV appearance this week, the former Suits actress did have some choice words for Trump back in 2016, before she was a member of the royal family, when she spoke with Larry Wilmore on The Nightly Show when she referred to him as "divisive" and "misogynistic." And when Trump was made aware of Markle's 2016 comments before preparing to meet with the royal family in 2019, he told The Sun "I didn’t know that she was nasty." So the president's most recent comments were hardly the first time he's thrown an insult at a powerful, strong woman like Markle.

Naturally the good people of Twitter had some thoughts about Trump's recent remarks about Markle. As one person pointed out, "He is not a fan of any strong Woman. Take it as a compliment." Meanwhile, another observed, "All Meghan Markle said was vote against hate. Trump raised his hand and said yes, that's me, I'm the hater!"

Although Trump has previously denied that he has issue with "strong woman of color," it sure seems like the Duchess of Sussex gets under his skin.