Donald Trump Jr., the US president’s eldest son, married socialite Bettina Anderson on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to Palm Beach County records. A private wedding celebration is reportedly planned for Saturday in the Bahamas.
President Donald Trump did not attend the ceremony, saying the date “was not good timing for me” amid the ongoing US-Iran crisis. He had been initially scheduled to be in Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend but altered his schedule to remain at the White House.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he felt it was important to remain in Washington “during this important time”.
The president said on Thursday that he had known Anderson “for a very long time, and hopefully they are going to have a great marriage”. Anderson is from a prominent Palm Beach family — her father, Harry Loy Anderson Jr., is a banker and philanthropist. She is also a committee member of the Project Paradise Film Fund, a conservation initiative focused on Florida’s environment.
Trump Jr., 48, announced his engagement to Anderson in December at a White House holiday party. This is his second marriage. He has five children with his first wife, Vanessa Trump, whom he married at Mar-a-Lago in 2005 and divorced in 2018. He was later engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host now serving as the US ambassador to Greece.
Trump Jr. runs the Trump Organization with his brother Eric Trump and has been a regular presence alongside his father at political events.
The wedding took place against the backdrop of an intense diplomatic week, with Trump altering his weekend plans to manage the unfolding US-Iran framework agreement and Tehran’s closure of western airspace over fears of further US strikes.
Source: NBC News, via Ada Derana.
