Donald Trump Trump defends Kate Middleton’s doctored photo

The photo posted on Mother’s Day of Kate, Princess of Wales, to the Kensington Palace’s social media accounts caused a national uproar in the United Kingdom that reverberated across the pond. The image, which was found to be so heavily edited that several news outlets issued a removal notice for it, fueled speculation about Kate’s condition — and her whereabouts — after her abdominal surgery in January.

But the furor around the edited photo was lost on former President Donald Trump.

“That shouldn’t be a big deal because everybody doctors,” he said in an interview Tuesday with Nigel Farage on the right-wing network GB News.

“You look at these movie actors, and you see a movie actor, and you meet them and you say, ‘Is that the same person in the picture?’” he added. “I looked at that actually and it was a very minor doctoring, I don’t understand why there could be such a howl over that.” 

Trump is no stranger to photo editing. In 2019, the tech news site Gizmodo reported that photos shared on Trump’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts had been modified from the official versions to make him look slimmer, retouch his hair and make his fingers slightly longer. He’s also shared an image of himself praying in a church on his TruthSocial account that shows him with six fingers, a tell-tale sign it was created using AI, according to the BBC.

In the interview, Trump also called it “a rough period” for the British royal family. King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer in February, and the rumors surrounding Kate’s recovery — she hasn’t made an official public appearance since Christmas Day — have prompted wild speculation online.

Trump’s affinity for the royals is well documented. After meeting Queen Elizabeth II on his first official state visit to the U.K. as president, he gushed over her, saying, “I feel I know her so well, and she certainly knows me very well right now.”

In the interview with Farage, Trump again called her “incredible” — and praised the monarchy.

“I’m a big fan of the concept of the royal family, and [of] the royal family,” he said.

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In the same interview, Trump also suggested that Prince Harry could be deported from the United States if he failed to disclose any past drug use in his visa application.

Clarissa-Jan Lim

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for MSNBC Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

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