After some speculation, President Trump confirmed Friday that he will not attend the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., saying he will instead remain in Washington, D.C., over the Memorial Day weekend.
The president posted to Truth Social that while he “very much wanted to be with my son,” he feels “it is important for me to remain ... at the White House during this important period of time.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was “going to try” to attend Donald Jr.’s wedding to Bettina Anderson, but that it was “not good timing for me.” According to news reports, the couple is having a small ceremony on a private island in the Bahamas.
The White House’s official public schedule had originally said that Trump would spend the holiday weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. As of Friday, the White House updated his schedule to say he would spend the weekend in D.C.
Trump was heading to Suffern, New York, on Friday to speak at Rockland Community College alongside New York Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican who is running for for a third term. According to official guidance, Trump will return to the White House at some point Friday evening.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Trump had told reporters Thursday that the wedding was not happening on a good weekend for him because “I have a thing called Iran and other things.” According to Page Six, Donald Jr. and Anderson were originally eyeing a wedding at the White House, but a source said that the couple is “very aware that a lavish wedding at the White House while people are dying wouldn’t be well-received.”
On Thursday, Trump told reporters that he “can’t win” no matter if he chooses to attend his son’s wedding or not.
“If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed, by the fake news, of course,” he quipped.
Kaitlin Lewis can be reached at Kaitlin.Lewis@globe.com. Follow her on X @kblewey.