The Trump baby blimp will fly again as protesters prepare for the US President’s touchdown
US President Donald Trump has denied calling Meghan Markle nasty even though a recording of the conversation has emerged.
US President Donald Trump has denied he called Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, “nasty” in an interview when asked about her comments that she would move to Canada if he was elected.
Mr Trump made the comments in a taped interview withThe Sun newspaper - despite an audio recording released by the paper.
But he said on Twitter today following the interview’s publication: “I never called Meghan Markle ‘nasty’. Made up by the Fake News Media and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologise? Doubt it!”
I never called Meghan Markle “nasty.†Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2019
Meghan had called Mr Trump “misogynistic” and “divisive” in 2016.
She made the comments before she married Prince Harry and will be a notable absence during his visit to the UK this week.
The Sun posted a recording of the original interview to prove that its reporting was accurate.
In the interview, The Sun’s political editor Tom Newton-Dunn, said to Trump: “(Markle) can’t make it because she’s got maternity leave. Are you sorry not to see her? Because she wasn’t so nice about you during the campaign. I don’t know if you saw that.”
Trump replied: “I didn’t know that, no. I didn’t know that. No, I hope she’s OK. I did not know that, no.”
Newton-Dunn added: “She said she’d move to Canada if you got elected. It turned out she moved to Britain.”
Trump said: “A lot of people moving here, so what can I say? No, I didn’t know that she was nasty.”
Trump went on to say that having an American princess was “nice” and she would do “excellently”.
“She will be very good, she will be very good,” he said.
“I hope she does.”
The Duchess remains on maternity leave after the birth of her son Archie last month.
Mr Trump is expected to arrive in London on Monday morning local time, as the Queen rolls out the red carpet in a highly anticipated state visit.
He and his wife Melania will arrive at a time of crisis in British politics with Prime Minister Theresa May set to resign on Friday.
Mrs May quit after she failed to deliver a deal on Britain leaving the European Union after almost three years of talks.
RELATED: Meghan’s brutal snub to Trump
The race is on for a new leader, while discussions have centred on Britain leaving the EU without a deal on October 31.
The US president has already weighed into the local politics ahead of his arrival, declaring that fringe-politician turned mainstream threat Nigel Farage should be involved in Brexit talks.
“I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer,” Mr Trump told The Sunday Times.
“He is a very smart person. They won’t bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just haven’t figured that out yet.”
Mr Farage, a long time European Union skeptic, started the Brexit Party seven weeks ago and won 31 per cent of the vote in European elections this month.
The Brexit Party topped a poll published on Sunday in The Observer of voters’ intentions in a general election, with 26 per cent, ahead of Labour, 22 per cent and the sitting Conservative Party at 17 per cent.
Mr Trump’s commentary, which was a departure from protocol, came after he also backed Conservative party leadership favourite Boris Johnson to become the next Prime Minister.
The leadership race was expected to be decided by late July.
The highlight of the state visit will be D-Day 75th anniversary celebrations in Portsmouth on Wednesday, commemorating the audacious invasion of France across the English channel that was the turning point in World War II.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was also due to attend, along with other world leaders.
The President was to be welcomed by the Queen and Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall on Monday morning local time at Buckingham Palace.
Mr Trump will then inspect a Guard of Honour with Prince Charles and Royal Gun salutes will be fired in London’s Green Park, near Buckingham Palace and at the Tower of London.
The Trumps will then have a private lunch with the Queen before viewing of the royal art collection that has a special significance to the United States.
Later in the day Mr Trump is expected to lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.
He is also due to have tea with Prince Charles at Clarence House, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Both the Queen and Mr Trump were to give speeches at the dinner.
This is Mr Trump’s second visit to the UK as US president – he had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle in July last year.
BABY TRUMP BLIMP IS BACK!
A giant inflatable Donald Trump baby blimp is expected to fly over London again during the US president’s state visit after its owners reached their fundraising target.
Organisers plan to fly the six-metre long blimp above Parliament Square for two hours from 9am on Tuesday, the second day of Mr Trump’s UK visit. The blimp, which can be flown up to 30 metres in the air, depicts the US president wearing a nappy and clutching a mobile phone.
A spokesman for the team behind the blimp said they had received permission to deploy the inflatable from the Greater London Authority, headed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Final sign-off from the Metropolitan Police is expected to be granted on Monday, with organisers confident this will happen.
The Trump blimp was previously granted permission to fly during Trump’s visit to the capital last July.
This year, the Trump Baby team, which is part of the Stop Trump coalition, said the blimp would only be flown if a crowd-funding target of STG30,000 ($A54,600) was met to support charities.
Organisers announced the target was reached on Sunday and raised it to STG50,000 ($A91,000) to give the charities an “even bigger boost”.
The Trump Baby team said the money will go to groups in the US and UK “fighting Trump’s policies and their impact on communities”, including in relation to climate change and women’s reproductive rights.
Ajuub Faraji, a Trump blimp “babysitter”, said: “Trump is a dangerous, divisive demagogue and we’re thrilled that the public have put their hands in their pockets to support groups fighting the impacts of his policies.
“Trump will try his best to avoid the public on his trip, but with Trump Baby flying we’re sending a very clear message of solidarity to those affected by his despicable politics — and saying loud and clear that the US president doesn’t deserve the red carpet treatment being given to him by the government.” On Saturday, the group behind the blimp projected a 15-metre image of a baby Trump on to the cliffs at Dover in Kent.
Mr Trump’s schedule for Tuesday includes a business breakfast at St James’s Palace with Prime Minister Theresa May and senior business leaders from the US and UK. He will then visit Downing Street, before hosting a dinner at the residence of the US ambassador when he will be joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Several protest groups plan to march through London during the three-day visit, with the main demonstration due to convene at Trafalgar Square at 11am on Tuesday.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is the latest to announce its involvement, pledging to protest against Trump’s “nuclear brinkmanship” and “penchant for tearing up nuclear treaties”.
General secretary Kate Hudson said: “Yes, Britain must foster good diplomatic relations with all countries, but unfurling the red carpet and hosting a state banquet for a US president like Donald Trump is entirely inappropriate.”
It comes as Mr Trump has waded into the most contentious issue in British politics by urging the UK government to leave the European Union without a deal if it can’t get better terms from EU leaders.
Mr Trump told the Sunday Times in an interview that Britain should “walk away” from talks and refuse to pay a 39-billion pound ($A71 billion) divorce bill if it doesn’t get better terms from the EU.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on Oct. 31 unless both sides agree to an extension. Britain’s position is in flux because Prime Minister Theresa May is stepping down as party leader Friday, setting in motion a race to succeed her and become prime minister.
RELATED: Trump’s sneaky dig annoys Britain
Mr Trump has also taken the unusual step of saying that Conservative Party leadership candidate Boris Johnson would make an “excellent” leader for the U.K. It is traditional for US and other world leaders not to offer choices in other country’s domestic political competitions.
US Ambassador Robert “Woody” Johnson said Sunday that Trump’s support of Johnson stems from their personal relationship.
“He’s known Boris Johnson for a long time and what he’s commenting on is his knowledge of Boris Johnson as a person,” the ambassador said. He also said that Washington would be ready to sign a strong trade deal with Britain once it’s out of the EU.
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