President Donald Trump says he may have to skip his son’s wedding this Memorial Day weekend, due to a complicated schedule.
‘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 explained to reporters in the Oval Office today.
‘You know this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That’s one I can’t win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed by the fake news.’
Donald Trump Jr and Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson will wed over Memorial Day weekend, ditching plans for a lavish White House extravaganza over fears it would upstage his father during wartime.
The President’s eldest son, 48, and Anderson, 39, had pushed the date to the fall, fearing a blowout nuptials during the Iran war would hand critics an easy shot at his father.
But with no end to the war in sight, the couple opted not to keep waiting, instead holding a smaller wedding for close family and friends over the holiday weekend.
‘They want to have a very private, private event. It will be quite lovely,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
‘It’s going to be tiny, only family and perhaps some old college friends will be there, the people who are especially tight with them. A very small group. Because where it’s happening, there’s not much space for a grand occasion with a lot of people.
‘At the moment, it’s so small even President Trump is not planned to be among the guests. But you never know with him, of course. Maybe he will drop in. He’s been known to do those kind of things.’
President Donald Trump says he may have to skip his son’s wedding this Memorial Day weekend, due to a complicated schedule
Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Anderson on the 18th green after the final round of LIV Golf Miami at Trump National Doral in April 2025
The friend continued: ‘Bettina and Don Jr are very anxious to maintain secrecy and control over this.
‘They had the engagement at Camp David, which was really controlled. And they want to maintain that level of control with the wedding.’
The friend added: ‘I think this is something they just want to get through, get it done. So they can get on with their lives, move on to the next chapters for all the things they want to achieve. And in due time I understand there will be a small celebration at the White House where clearly President Trump will be involved.’
The couple started dating in late 2024, just as Don Jr broke off his engagement to former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, now the US Ambassador to Greece.
The Trump scion popped the question to Anderson, daughter of philanthropists Harry Loy Anderson Jr. and Inger Anderson, at Camp David in December 2025, while they were celebrating her birthday.
The wedding day comes just weeks after Bettina held an opulent bridal shower attended by her future sisters-in-law at Mar-a-Lago.
Ivanka Trump posted photos from the event on Instagram, writing she was ‘so grateful to share this joyous moment.’
Bettina wore a strapless tea-length white dress with delicate silver floral embroidery on the top. The bride-to-be paired that with $1,500 satin slingback pumps with a crystal toe by designer Manolo Blahnik.
Ivanka, 44, led the posse of presidential family women, including her daughter Arabella, 14, her sister-in-law Lara, 43, sister Tiffany, 32, and Don Jr’s golf protege daughter Kai, 18.
Donald Trump Jr and fiancée Bettina Anderson’s lavish wedding plans are now on hold as global tensions mount, insiders tell the Daily Mail
Ivanka, 44, (right) led the posse of presidential family women at Andeson’s (center) bridal shower, including her daughter Arabella, 14, (left) her sister-in-law Lara, 43, (second from left) and sister Tiffany, 32, (second from right)
Trump’s second wife Marla Maples also enjoyed the celebration, but First Lady Melania, 55, was missing.
At one point, the President’s son dropped in with a massive red floral bouquet and planted a kiss on his future second wife.
The couple kept their relationship largely under wraps for months as Don Jr still officially lived in a $17.5 million waterfront mansion with fiancée Guilfoyle, the 57-year-old former wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
However, the Daily Mail spotted them in August, 2024, canoodling during an intimate brunch date at The Honor Bar, located in Palm Beach’s swanky Royal Poinciana Plaza.
In what was clearly no business meeting, the society ‘it girl’ was seen reaching over three times to plant a kiss on her new beau’s lips.
‘She seemed totally smitten with Don – and he with her,’ a witness told us at the time.
‘They were definitely on a date. They weren’t exactly making out, but the kisses were romantic and you could tell they were intimate with each other.’
The day after the cozy meal, Don Jr was seen with Guilfoyle as the MAGA Boat Parade passed by their six-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in the high-security Admiral’s Cove community in Jupiter, 20 miles north of Mar-a-Lago.
Anderson’s engagement ring is an eight-carat emerald-cut diamond ring designed by Dallas jeweler Sue Gragg of Sue Gragg Precious Jewels, with experts saying it may have been bigger and more valuable than the one Trump Jr gave Guilfoyle in 2022
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed Don and Bettina were a couple in December, 2024, as we pictured them walking hand in hand after a romantic dinner in Palm Beach, Florida, celebrating her birthday
However, following our story of Don Jr and Anderson at brunch, pals of GOP stalwart Guilfoyle revealed she had been blindsided.
‘Kimberly either didn’t know about Bettina – or didn’t want to know,’ said one. ‘Did she hear whispers that Don Jr was fooling around with someone else? Probably.
‘She’s no fool, but it’s easy to deceive yourself when you’re so committed to someone and believe he’s committed to you.’
Four months later, exclusive photos showed Don Jr flaunting the new relationship as the couple walked hand in hand from downtown Palm Beach eatery Buccan during her 38th birthday celebrations.
The images were proof the now First Son had moved on from Guilfoyle, who took up her diplomatic post in Athens in November 2025.
Dressed in a smart blue suit and white shirt open at the neck, Don Jr revealed no compunction about showing off his new flame as they emerged from the restaurant just before 10pm.
