Prince Harry and Meghan Markle risk serious repercussions – especially from Donald Trump – with their latest move, according to an expert.
The couple has long been berated by Mr Trump since they made the dramatic decision to quit as working royals and move to the United States. In recent days, the Sussexes have taken aim at Meta, the social media company behind platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, for its decision to scrap its fact-checking programme.
In a statement on their website, Harry and Meghan urged Meta to prioritise public safety and curb growing hate speech on its platforms. They referenced the decision being made as “undoubtedly responding to political winds.”
‘Awkward’ Prince Harry hovers on sidelines in Meghan Markle ‘photo op disaster’
Harry and Meghan have urged Meta to prioritise public safety and curb growing hate speech
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And one PR expert believes the veiled reference may have been aimed at Mr Trump, who will be sworn in as US president again next week, and warns he could find it “quite incendiary”. PR expert Nick Ede told Newsweek: “Unfortunately there could be a repercussion from this, especially with Trump, you know, poking this ginormous bear and not expecting something back from it. Trump will see this as a battle he wants to win and potentially will target them in whatever way he does it.”
He added: “This is quite incendiary in that respect because we know Trump is not a fan of theirs and this could be a way to negatively affect them. I don’t think this is the last of this and I don’t think it will stop.”
Harry and Meghan’s war of words with Mr Trump dates back to 2020 at the time of the election campaign between Mr Trump and Joe Biden when the Sussexes appeared in a video urging Americans to ‘vote against hate speech’.
President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on January 20
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While they did not specifically mention anyone by name, the remarks were interpreted as referring to Mr Trump and therefore an endorsement of Mr Biden, with some claiming it was a breach of the Sandringham Summit agreement, which was written up when the couple quit their royal duties in 2020. Later Mr Trump spoke out saying he was “no fan” of Meghan.
Fast forward to recent months, Harry has found himself in the centre of a row over his visa, which allows him to live in California. After admitting to using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his controversial memoir Spare, a lawsuit from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation argued that the US Government should release records about the Duke’s visa US application to show whether his drug use was disclosed.
Before a ruling was made in the case, Mr Trump raged at the Biden administration for maintaining the privacy of Harry’s immigration application in order to “protect Harry.” He told the Express US: “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”
Days later he was also challenged on this stance on Harry during an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News. Mr Farage asked if there would be any “special privileges” for the prince, and the now president-elect said: “No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”
However, there has been a hint that Harry’s visa woes during a Trump presidency won’t result in him being deported. It comes after Mr Trump’s son Eric suggested before the election that Harry’s visa would be safe because “no one cares” about him and that his wife Meghan is “pretty unpopular”.
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