Pres. Trump calls Meghan Markle 'nasty' when asked about critical comments

LONDON -- Meghan Markle is still on maternity leave and will be sitting out President Donald Trump's state visit, but a British tabloid is stirring things up by calling Trump's attention to years-old comments Markle made about him.

In a 2016 pre-election interview with Comedy Central, Markle did not hold back, slamming Trump as a misogynist and adding that he is "so vocal about it." The interview was taped before Markle joined the royal family.

A reporter from The Sun brought up Markle's comments to Trump this week, telling the president in a recorded interview, "She said she would move to Canada if you got elected. It turned out she moved to Britain."

"A lot of people are moving here, so what can I say?" Trump responded. "I didn't know she was nasty."

"Nasty" is a word Trump has used before to dismiss Hillary Clinton and Sen. Kamala Harris. The term has been adopted like a badge of honor by women who oppose Trump.

The president and his allies pushed back Sunday against the suggestion that Trump was calling Markle herself nasty.

"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!" Trump tweeted Sunday.

"The media will stop at nothing to concoct a negative story about President Trump, throwing journalistic integrity out the window," a spokeswoman for Trump's 2020 campaign told ABC News. The campaign pointed out that Trump also said positive things about Markle in the same Sun interview.

When asked about how having an American in the royal family could impact diplomatic relations between the United States and England, Trump said, "I think it is nice and I am sure she will do excellently. She'll be very good. "