President Donald Trump will miss his son’s wedding celebration this weekend as he remains at the White House “during this important period of time,” he wrote on Truth Social Friday.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is marrying Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson. This will be his second marriage.
“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” the president wrote.
The New York Times reported Friday that Trump Jr. and Anderson legally wed on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to marriage records. A separate ceremony on a small island in the Bahamas is planned for this weekend, sources told CNN, which also reported fewer than 50 people were on the guest list.
The White House sent an updated schedule Friday showing the president will stay in Washington, D.C. A previous schedule had him staying in Bedminster, New Jersey, from Friday evening through Sunday.
Trump first indicated he would not attend the wedding after a reporter asked him a question during an Oval Office event on Thursday.
“He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small little private affair, and I’m going to try and make it,” Trump said.
“I said: ‘You know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things,’” he joked.
Trump has departed Washington, D.C., since the Iran war began for everything from rallies to golfing.
Trump Jr. was previously engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is now the U.S. ambassador to Greece. People reported in April that Trump favored Anderson over Guilfoyle, who was frequently featured on the campaign trail during Trump’s reelection.
“The president is happy with the way Bettina looks, and wants his son to be satisfied in his next mate,” a source told People. “The Trumps were happy with [Don Jr.’s first wife] Vanessa, and also with Kim at first until she became a grandstander and attempted to put too much media and MAGA attention on herself.”
Vanessa Trump, whom Trump Jr. divorced in 2018, currently dates professional golfer Tiger Woods. She revealed this week she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
