WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump canceled plans to spend the weekend away from Washington and will skip his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebration in the Bahamas, citing urgent government responsibilities as his administration continues diplomatic efforts surrounding the war with Iran.
Trump had originally planned to spend Friday night at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey following an event in New York’s Hudson Valley before traveling to the Bahamas for the private family celebration. A change in the president’s public schedule released Friday afternoon instead showed Trump returning directly to 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 Friday on Truth Social.
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” the president added.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116619340468924220
Trump’s abrupt schedule change comes as his administration remains engaged in Pakistan-mediated diplomatic talks aimed at bringing an end to the war with Iran. On Thursday, when asked whether he would attend his son’s celebration, Trump acknowledged the timing was difficult.
“I have a thing called Iran and other things,” Trump told reporters.
Trump said the gathering would be a “small private affair” and indicated at the time that he would try to attend. By Friday, however, the president had determined that remaining at the White House took priority.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Trump met with members of his security cabinet Friday before traveling to Suffern, New York, where he was briefed on diplomatic and military options involving Iran. During his New York remarks, Trump said the conflict with Iran “will be over soon” and predicted that “oil prices will go down,” without providing details about the state of negotiations.
The family celebration follows the legal marriage of Donald Trump Jr. and Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday, May 21. According to a Florida marriage license obtained by People, the couple married at the home of Anderson’s twin sister, Kristina Anderson McPherson, before their planned weekend celebration in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas gathering was expected to be a small private event. Trump Jr. had hoped his father would attend, but the president’s decision leaves him in Washington as his administration confronts one of the most consequential foreign policy crises of his second term.
