A CNN panel on The Lead poked fun at the prospect of Donald Trump missing his own son's wedding. Host Jake Tapper, alongside former CNN anchor John Avlon and guest Alyssa Farah Griffin, reacted to a clip of Trump reluctantly telling reporters he would 'try and make' Donald Trump Jr.'s planned Memorial Day ceremony.
Trump's Hesitation
'You know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things,' Trump said. His first-born son is marrying Florida socialite and model Bettina Anderson. Tapper introduced the clip with a smirk: 'I think, am I pronouncing that right?'
'Alyssa, is he really going to skip Don Jr's wedding?' Tapper asked.
Griffin could not help but smile. 'You got to go, Mr. President. Please go to your son's wedding. I'm certain he will go,' she said. 'And I actually think that clip goes on to him say, "I've known him for a very long time." That is your child!' she added.
Tapper replied: 'That's true. Fact check: true.'
Panel's Reaction
In the exchange Griffin referred to, Trump appeared to be referring to Anderson rather than his own son. 'He's got a very- a person who I've known for a long time, and hopefully they are going to have a great marriage,' he said. The whole table broke out in laughter.
Tapper continued to riff: 'He has kno- Donald Trump has known Donald Trump Jr for a very-'
'Very long time,' Avlon concluded.
Griffin chimed in to 'wish the happy couple their best.'
'We all do,' a laughing Tapper added before one last jab. 'And we wish that the father was there.'
'That'd be nice,' Avlon said.
Wedding Details
Trump was reluctant to commit when asked in the Oval Office on Thursday. '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. I'm in the midst- I said, "You know, this is not good timing for me! I have a thing called Iran and other things,"' Trump said. 'That's one I can't win on.'
Donald Trump Jr., 48, is marrying Bettina Anderson this weekend. Anderson, 39, is a model from a prominent banking family in Palm Beach. The planned nuptials are Trump Jr.'s second wedding, following his first to model Vanessa in 2005, which was held at his father's Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump Jr. got engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2020, but the relationship ended in 2024. Guilfoyle is now the US ambassador to Greece.
