Donald Trump has confirmed he will skip Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas on Saturday, saying he is 'too busy' and that he must remain in Washington, even as records show the president has repeatedly made time for golf outings and tournaments this spring.
Public schedule-watching and online sleuthing focused on where Trump would spend the Memorial Day weekend. His eldest son, 48, is due to marry 39-year-old model and influencer Bettina Anderson on a private Bahamian island, with fewer than 50 guests expected in attendance. By contrast, the groom's first wedding in 2005 drew roughly 370 people to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump and Melania had celebrated their own nuptials just months earlier.
Trump Cites 'Iran and Other Things' as He Bows Out
Trump has spent much of his second term facing backlash for launching an unpopular war with Iran, while still travelling frequently for leisure and political spectacle. According to an analysis by the Donald Trump Golf Tracker, verified by the Daily Beast, he has golfed on at least 111 days of this presidency, about 22.7% of his time in office.
That pattern did not appear to slow after the conflict with Iran began. Online trackers and the Daily Beast's own count say Trump visited golf courses at least 14 times after the war started, including to play and to watch tournaments at his properties in Miami and Virginia. The weekends beginning 7 March, 13 March, 21 March, 28 March, 24 April and 2 May all saw him jet out of Washington, despite the ongoing military crisis.
Even so, Trump argued publicly that crossing a shorter stretch of water to see his eldest son remarry was a step too far. Speaking about Don Jr.'s big day, he told reporters his son 'would like me to go' but described it as a 'small little private affair' he might not attend.
'I said, You know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things,' Trump said, adding that it was a situation he 'can't win' because 'if I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed by the fake news, of course, I'm talking about.'
Later on Friday he made it official on Truth Social, writing that 'circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me' to be there and insisting it was 'important' to remain at the White House 'during this important period of time.'
Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson officially marry ahead of Bahamas wedding https://t.co/qcGmZIlosD pic.twitter.com/wRpmv2lYWO
— New York Post (@nypost) May 22, 2026
Golf, War and a Trump Family Wedding
Donald Trump needed to stay in Washington sat awkwardly beside his original public schedule for the weekend, which initially listed travel to his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey. Axios reported that the White House scrambled to amend that schedule once questions about the wedding mounted, and the official line is now that he will remain in the capital.
That revision also jars with how Trump has actually spent his weekends in recent months. After the Iran war began, he first returned to the golf course on 8 March. On 3 May he was photographed at a PGA event at his Doral club in Florida, and on 9 May he turned up at another tournament at his Virginia course as a spectator.
A March investigation by HuffPost concluded that taxpayers had already covered more than $100 million in costs tied to Trump's golfing habits. Since that report came out on 28 March, he has gone out to play at least nine more times, including at courses in Palm Beach, Doral and Sterling. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on his golfing schedule.
All this makes the president's sudden sense of immovability feel, at the very least, selectively applied. On 1 May he was in Florida speaking to seniors in The Villages before addressing the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, then stayed in South Florida for the weekend and attended the PGA Cadillac Championship at Doral on 3 May. On 11 April he attended a UFC fight in Miami while Vice President JD Vance was in Islamabad leading peace talks with Iran that later collapsed.
He also flew south again on 25 April to host winners of his second annual $TRUMP meme coin contest at Mar-a-Lago. The top 297 token holders were invited to a conference and gala luncheon, with the 29 biggest holders receiving a VIP champagne toast with the president. It is a level of face time his own son will not receive on his second wedding day.
A Quieter Ceremony for Don Jr. and Bettina Anderson
Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson began dating after he split from Kimberly Guilfoyle in late 2024. Their official ceremony is set for a low-key island in the Bahamas reports have mentioned venues less than 100 miles from Mar-a-Lago, though none has pinpointed the exact location.
CNN reports that all of Don Jr.'s siblings Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron are expected to attend. It remains unclear whether First Lady Melania Trump will make the trip. The thrice-married Trump was present for Don Jr.'s first marriage to Vanessa Kay Haydon at Mar-a-Lago in 2005, long before the Iran war, meme coins and golf trackers became part of the family narrative.
Don Jr. and Vanessa were married for more than a decade and share five children: Kai, 19, Donald J. Trump III, 17, Tristan, 14, Spencer, 13, and Chloe Sophia, 11. While their father's Memorial Day plans have dominated headlines, the couple's own handling of the legal side of this new marriage has been relatively discreet.
Huge congratulations to Don Jr. and Bettina! 💍 The wedding bombshell is out, they’re already officially married. So happy for them! 🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/I4rPz080FI
— Trump Girl (@TrumpGirlLove) May 23, 2026
The Daily Mail reported on Friday that Don Jr. and Anderson had already obtained a marriage certificate in Florida. Documents obtained by the Daily Beast show they were officially wed on Thursday at the West Palm Beach home of Anderson's sister, Kristina McPherson. The Trump family has not publicly acknowledged that ceremony, and there is no indication Trump attended.
Nothing is confirmed yet about any private family celebrations around the Bahamas event, so all such speculation should be taken with a grain of salt. What is clear is that when Trump weighed war, work, golf and family, his eldest son's island wedding did not make the cut.
