Washington: US President Donald Trump said that he has not decided to attend the wedding of his son Donald Trump Jr, which is said to be held this weekend – a long weekend in the United States – in the Bahamas.
“He would like me to go, but it would be a little personal thing,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (US time), when asked if he would attend the ceremony.
“I’m going to try to do that. I’m in the middle – I said, ‘You know, this is not a good time for me’. I have something called Iran and other things.”
Trump claimed that he would have been criticized by the media if he went to the wedding amid the war with Iran – even though there is a ceasefire – and also if he stayed away.
“That’s what I can’t win. If I attend, I will be killed, if I don’t attend, I will be killed – for fake news, of course, I’m talking about,” he said.
“But he (Trump Jr.) has someone I’ve known for a long time. And we hope they have a good marriage.”
New York PostPart of Page Six reported this week that Trump Jr. would marry his wife Bettina Anderson over the long Memorial Day weekend, which runs from Saturday to Monday, on a private island in the Bahamas.
Such a trip would be difficult and expensive for a sitting president, given the security requirements. However, he occasionally leaves Washington to spend weekends at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, or his private golf club in New Jersey.
Trump Jr, 48, runs the family business with his brother Eric, and was active in his father’s political campaigns. He separated from his previous wife Vanessa in 2018 after 13 years of marriage; they have five children.
He later became engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News anchor who was once married to the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom. He became a Republican and raised money for Donald Trump, but he and Trump Jr. split in 2024. President Trump appointed his American ambassador to Greece.
It was in August 2024 that Trump Jr was photographed for the first time with Anderson, a socialite and model, “playing candles” at a restaurant in Palm Beach in Florida.
He reportedly proposed to the 39-year-old in December while they were at Camp David, the president’s official residence in Maryland, which has hosted major meetings under past presidents.
As of March, Vanessa Trump was reported to still be dating American golf legend Tiger Woods, who has returned to the United States after attending an overseas rehab program following a DUI arrest.
She revealed this week that she had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a “procedure” of treatment.
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Michael Koziol is the North American correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, deputy editor of the Sun-Herald and federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect through X or email address.
