Former US President Donald Trump weighed into the recent scrutiny over Prince Harry’s visa, hinting that if he’s reelected, the Duke of Sussex could face deportation over drug use he admitted to in his 2023 memoir.
Trump, the presumed GOP nominee for president, made the warning in a preview of an interview with British broadcaster GB News that’s set to air on Tuesday evening.
“We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action,” Trump said of the possibility that Harry falsified portions of his visa application that ask about drug use.
Since stepping down from official senior royal duties in 2020, the duke’s primary residence has been in California with his two children and his wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
But last year, a conservative think tank called the Heritage Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security for access to Harry’s immigration records, citing admissions in his memoir, Spare, that he’s used cocaine, marijuana and psilocybin. It’s unclear if Harry disclosed the drug use in his visa application. A federal judge is currently deciding whether the records should be made public.
When GB News host Nigel Farage asked Trump to clarify whether he was talking about Harry facing deportation, Trump played coy.
“Oh, I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me,” he said. “You would have thought they would have known this a long time ago.”
Other public figures have faced immigration issues over their drug use, including Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona and the late British singer Amy Winehouse.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately return a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
Harry said last month that he’s considered becoming an American citizen.
“It’s a thought that has crossed my mind, but it’s not a high priority for me right now,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America.