Harry and Meghan never specifically mentioned Trump when they said people should “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” – but one GOP member of Congress says the implication is clear.
Posted on October 9, 2020 at 4:07 pm ET
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A Republican member of Congress wrote a letter of protest to the UK Ambassador to the US alleging that last month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recorded a video urging American voters to “hate speech, misinformation and online Reject negativity “. They actually fought against President Donald Trump.
“These actions constitute a grave violation of the British royal family’s policy of political neutrality and the undue interference of one of our closest allies,” wrote Jason Smith Rep. Of the 8th Congressional District of Missouri in the letter on Friday.
Smith urged Dame Karen Pierce, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, DC, to urge the UK government to ensure that the couple “stop trying to meddle in the US elections” or lose all titles, styles and privileges that they have currently keep them. “
Prince Harry and Megan Markle are using foreign titles to fight President Trump and disrupt our election. Today I asked the UK government to put an end to this. See my full letter below⬇️
4:02 p.m. – October 9, 2020
Last month, Meghan and Harry urged Americans to vote in a special between ABC and Time Magazine that was timed to coincide with National Voter Registration Day.
“Every four years we are told the same thing that this is the most important choice of our lives, but it is,” said Meghan, who, like her son Archie, is both an American citizen and a member of the British royal family.
“As we approach this November, it is important that we avoid hate speech, misinformation and online negativity,” Harry added.
“It is time not only to reflect, but also to act.” On this # NationalVoterRegistrationDay, # Time100 alumni Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stand up for the future.
02:41 – 23 September 2020
Harry and Meghan resigned from the royal family earlier this year and agreed with the Queen that they would no longer accept money from UK taxpayers or use their titles of “Royal Highness” in exchange for less duties and more privacy. You live in California now.
The couple never explicitly mentioned Trump in their voting video. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess said at the time of the video’s release that they were simply calling for “decency and respect” and not advocating a candidate.
The point was referred to by several people on Friday, and it was found that Smith apparently associated his party’s leader with “hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”.
According to this GOP Congressman, Harry’s call to voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” fights against Trump. https://t.co/7FxpkcrqsU
18:31 – 09 October 2020
Asking “reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity” as an attack on Republicans is an incredible way of telling yourself: https://t.co/i2b5ynpXCr
6:34 p.m. – October 9, 2020
Others noted that in addition to Smith’s misspelling of Markle’s name, lawmakers had ignored that she was an American citizen and eligible to vote.
Meghan Markle is a US citizen. She is not the slave of the British royal family “Whites Only” who does what she commands. You cannot intimidate them or others into not voting or expressing their freedom of speech. https://t.co/RYTzRPBeqU
5:54 p.m. – 9 October 2020
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing the 8th District of Illinois, also weighed in.
According to this letter, is it a campaign against the president to urge people to exercise their right to vote and “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”? I think this is a way to get a cameo on “The Crown”. https://t.co/fag3mWce2y
18:51 – 09 October 2020
Even so, senior royal aides told the Times newspaper last month that the comments violated the agreement the couple had made when they split from senior royal officials. They suggested that the Queen and others should distance themselves further from the remarks.
When asked for the comments at a press conference at the White House, President Trump mistakenly learned that the couple had specifically endorsed Joe Biden, he said he was “not a fan” of Meghan.
“I wish Harry the best of luck – because he’s going to need it,” said Trump.
Reporter asks Trump if Harry & Meghan are pushing people to vote (they mistakenly say they are expressly in favor of Biden). Trump: I’m not a fan of her. And I’d say that … I wish Harry the best of luck – because he’s going to need it.
10:34 p.m. – September 23, 2020
Before she became queen and was still an actress in suits, Meghan had spoken out against Trump and called him “divisive”.
The Los Angeles-born actor called him “misogynist … and so vocal” and said she was considering staying in Canada, where she was filming suits, in case he wins.
Last year, Trump was asked about her old comments by the Sun newspaper ahead of her state visit to the UK.
“I didn’t know,” said Trump. “What can I say? I didn’t know she was angry. “(He later denied the comments.)
President Trump, of course, meddled in the UK elections himself. Ahead of the UK elections in December, he called on the British to reject Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.
“Corbyn would be so bad for your country. He would be so bad, he would take you so badly. He would take you to such bad places, “Trump said in October 2019.
In 2016, when he ran for president and British voters were considering Brexit, Trump said they would be “better off” without the European Union.
Representatives from the Duke and Duchess Smith and the British Embassy in Washington, DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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