The Questionable Way Meghan Markle Is Now Using Her Royal Title
In the past few weeks, unless you've completely tuned out political news of any kind, it's likely that you've heard all about the dramatic negotiations taking place amongst the Democrats (it seems to be the Democrats versus Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema) over the social spending bill and bipartisan infrastructure bill. While there are many items in the social spending bill, the more notable items deal with climate change, childcare and universal preschool, medicare expansion, and paid family and medical leave, per CBS News. President Joe Biden first proposed 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, though it was shortened to four weeks before being cut altogether from the bill. However, on Wednesday, it was reported that the four weeks of paid family and medical leave were added to the social spending bill once again, according to CNN.
Of the many celebrities and politically-active Americans campaigning for certain aspects of the bill, one of the most surprising people pushing for certain parts of the bill to pass is Meghan Markle. In October, Markle published an open letter on the group Paid Leave for All's website addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. The letter urged the political leaders to do everything in their power to pass some form of paid family leave. While many praised Markle's involvement, others raised their eyebrows at a sneaky thing that the royal did to get the ear of politicians.
Markle is using her royal title to appeal to American politicians
Apart from writing an open letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Meghan Markle took it upon herself to call other politicians (both Democrats and Republicans) to lobby for the inclusion of paid family and medical leave in the government's social spending bill. "I'm in my car. I'm driving. It says caller ID blocked. Honestly ... I thought it was Senator Manchin. His calls come in blocked. And she goes 'Senator Capito?' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex,'" Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito told Politico. "I couldn't figure out how she got my number." Another politician told Politico that the way Markle used her royal title was a bit offputting. "Much to my surprise, she called me on my private line and she introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex, which Is kind of ironic," Republican Senator Susan Collins told Politico.
Twitter users are also not fond of how Markle is using her royal title (despite leaving her royal duties behind) to appeal to American politicians. "We all agree with the sentiment, but it's offensive that an American politician endorses a letter from a 'Duke and Duchess' addressed to American politicians," one user tweeted in response to a tweet from Representative Eric Swalwell. "I'm sure @RepSwalwell remembers the Revolutionary War, where we fought against a monarchy (and just avoided another)." Mostly, other Twitter users echoed this statement, suggesting that a member of the British royal family should have no part in American politics.