"She was nasty to me, and that’s okay for her to be nasty," Trump told Piers Morgan in an interview set to air Wednesday

Trump Says He Almost Talked to Prince Harry About 'Nasty' Meghan Markle Comment — Which He's Now Explaining

In a new interview during his state visit to the U.K., President Donald Trump insisted that the world had misunderstood his recent description of Meghan Markle as “nasty.”

He had not said Meghan was nasty herself, he claimed to Piers Morgan in a sit-down set to air Wednesday morning.

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Rather, Trump said, Meghan had acted nastily by criticizing him during the 2016 presidential election.

“She was nasty to me, and that’s okay for her to be nasty,” he told Morgan, according to an advance copy of his quotes released by Good Morning Britain. “It’s not good for me to be nasty to her and I wasn’t.”

Trump also insisted to Morgan, long a sympathetic conservative voice, that he had planned to bring up the matter to Prince Harry when the two met on Monday at Buckingham Palace.

“We didn’t talk about it,” Trump told Morgan, adding, “I was going to because it was so falsely put out there.”

In an Oval Office interview with The Sun newspaper published last week, Trump was asked about Meghan’s 2016 disapproval of him while he was running against Hillary Clinton.

During an interview on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, the then-Suits actress called Trump “misogynistic” and “divisive” and also said she was thinking about moving to Canada if he won the election.

Told this by the Sun, Trump replied, “I didn’t know that. No, I didn’t know that she was nasty.”

Afterward he insisted it was wrong to report that he had called Meghan “nasty,” despite the interview being recorded.

On Sunday, before heading to the U.K., Trump told reporters at the White House he had no reason to clarify what he’d said about Meghan: “I made no bad comment.”

Still, the flap had not soured him in the slightest on the royal family, he told Morgan. Trump said he congratulated Harry — who recently welcomed son Archie with Meghan — during their meeting.

Image zoom Prince Harry (right) with President Donald Trump at Buckingham Palace on Monday MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty

Image zoom From left: President Donald Trump and Meghan Markle Julie Douxe/REX; Chris Jackson/Getty Images

“I think he’s a terrific guy. The royal family is really nice,” Trump said.

Of Meghan said, he said, “She’s doing a good job, I hope she enjoys her life … I think she’s very nice.”

Trump’s state visit in the U.K. continues Wednesday with a commemoration of D-Day. After that he and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Ireland and then head to France on Thursday.

Though Trump was first invited by Queen Elizabeth for an official visit in 2017, the trip was repeatedly delayed and he is a divisive figure in the U.K. In addition to his comment about Meghan, he attacked London’s mayor as a “loser” as he arrived early Monday.

The trip has included a mix of political and ceremonial engagements, including a banquet at Buckingham Palace. Meghan, who is on maternity leave, has not been in attendance.