Donald Trump Reveals He's Skipping Son Don Jr.'s Wedding Due to 'My Love for the USA,' but Sends His Congrats to the Couple
Donald Trump Reveals He's Skipping Son Don Jr.'s Wedding Due to 'My Love for the USA,' but Sends His Congrats to the Couple
Joseph Konig, Meredith KileFri, May 22, 2026 at 5:49 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump on July 13, 2025 in New Jersey. Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson on March 15 in Palm Beach, Fla.
Credit: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty; Ryan Emberley/amfAR/Getty
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President Donald Trump officially revealed on Friday, May 22, that he will not be attending his son Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding to Bettina Anderson this weekend
He cited "circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America," but congratulated the couple
Trump his official schedule on Friday afternoon to reflect that he will spend Memorial Day weekend at the White House, after originally planning to spend it at his New Jersey golf course
President Donald Trump officially revealed on Friday, May 22, that he will not be attending his son Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding to Bettina Anderson this weekend due to "circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America."
"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 on Truth Social just after 1 p.m. ET on Friday. "I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time."
"Congratulations to Don and Bettina! President DONALD J. TRUMP," he added.
Trump was at the White House on Friday, but scheduled to fly to the New York suburbs in the evening to campaign for vulnerable New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.
An official schedule put out by the White House on the evening prior, Thursday, May 21, noted that the president was scheduled to spend Saturday and Sunday at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club before returning to Washington.
The White House his schedule shortly after his Truth Social post to reflect that he now plans to spend the whole weekend at the White House.
On Thursday, the president was asked about the wedding and said that, while he hadn't made a final decision on whether to attend the wedding, he had warned Don Jr. "this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things."
"That's one I can't win on," he told reporters. "If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed — by the fake news, of course."
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According to the Trump Golf Tracker, the president has golfed 14 times since starting the war in Iran on Feb. 28.
Don Jr., 48, and Bettina, 39, announced their engagement at a White House holiday event on Dec. 15, 2025, with an introduction from the president himself.
This week, Page Six reported that the couple planned to tie the knot over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, claiming that the couple will exchange vows in front of a small group of family and friends at an intimate ceremony on a private island in the Bahamas.
The outlet previously reported that, while the couple were eager to get hitched, they were aware that the optics of a White House wedding amid a major global conflict would not be positive.
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Similarly, Melania did not attend Bettina's bridal shower at Mar-a-Lago in April. However, she was supported by other members of the Trump family, including her future sisters-in-law, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, as well as Marla Maples, Tiffany's mother and Donald Trump's second wife.
“The shower was gorgeous,” a source told PEOPLE. “The event was held mostly inside and was lovely but there were guests hanging outside some of the time."
This is the first marriage for Bettina and the second for Don Jr., who shares five children with his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump: Kai, 19; Donald, 17; Tristan, 14; Spencer, 13; and Chloe, 11.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
