President Donald Trump said in a statement to PEOPLE that he has “no idea” who his eldest son’s Russian friend Umar Kremlev is and has “never heard of him”
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NEED TO KNOW
- A businessman linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin attended and helped fund Donald Trump Jr.’s post-wedding celebration in the Bahamas alongside bride Bettina Anderson Trump, according to a new report
- ProPublica reported on Monday, Sept. 14, that Umar Kremlev poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the celebration just a month after meeting with Putin
- Kremlev is a “dear friend” of the couple, Bettina wrote on Instagram on Sept. 14, after the report came out, denying there was anything nefarious about the relationship
When Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, celebrated his wedding to Bettina Anderson Trump in the Bahamas in May, a businessman linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin was in attendance and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the newlyweds, according to a new report from ProPublica.
Umar Kremlev is a “dear friend” of the couple, Bettina wrote on Instagram on Monday, Sept. 14, after the report was published, adding the head of the International Boxing Association “generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.”
“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” wrote Bettina, in a post signed “with love and gratitude, Don & Bettina.”
Credit: Bettina Trump/Instagram
Kremlev has no business relationship with Don Jr., a spokesperson for President Donald Trump‘s son told ProPublica, adding that the two men met through a mutual friend in the hunting world and bonded over boxing and their passion for the outdoors. The New York Times independently confirmed the report, citing “two people with knowledge of the matter.”
However, Kremlev — who told ProPublica through his press office that he “has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances” — has direct ties to Putin and met with the Russian president at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 22, wire service photos show. April 22 was exactly a month before the Bahamas celebration.
ProPublica reported that Kremlev was in China at the same time as Putin during a state visit days before the Bahamas celebration, though Kremlev denied being part of the official delegation in his statement to the outlet. The Russian president awarded him the state honor of the Order of Friendship in April, according to the nonprofit newsroom.
Kremlev is also one of the many allies of Putin who have been sanctioned by the Ukrainian government since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
Credit: Contributor/Getty
“I have no idea who Umar is, never heard of him, and he didn’t pay for Don and Bettina’s wedding, which took place at a totally different location, and on a different day,” President Donald Trump says in a statement to PEOPLE through the White House press office on Monday. “It was an ‘afterparty’ given in their honor. Not a big deal! I was not present at the party.”
The president did not attend the private ceremony in West Palm Beach, Fla., nor the subsequent weekend celebration in the Bahamas. Don Jr. and Bettina were with the president in Ireland over the weekend.
Representatives for Don Jr. and Kremlev did not immediately respond to requests for comment from PEOPLE on Monday.
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While Don Jr. has no official role in his father’s administration, watchdog organizations and Democrats have raised questions about the success of the president’s family’s businesses during his second term. Vice President JD Vance has also credited Don Jr. for playing a significant role in his political successes.
“I don’t think I would have won my Senate race without Don’s help. And I certainly don’t think I’d be sitting here as the VP nominee without Don’s help,” Vance told The Wall Street Journal late in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent out a pair of private islands, put on a fireworks show and other aspects of the May weekend in the Bahamas, ProPublica reported.
In her Instagram post, Bettina wrote that her wedding to Don Jr. took place in Florida before the pre-planned trip to the Bahamas with friends.
Don Jr., 48, and Bettina, 39, were married by Bettina’s brother-in-law Bradley McPherson in a small, intimate ceremony at the West Palm Beach, Fla., home of the bride’s twin sister Kristina Anderson McPherson, PEOPLE reported in May.
“Don and I got married privately on Friday, surrounded ONLY by our family,” Bettina wrote of the May 22 ceremony in her Sept. 14 statement. “It was intimate, deeply personal and one of the most beautiful days of our lives.”
The next two days in the Bahamas were “a wonderful weekend with friends and one hell of a party” that involved “NO CONSPIRACY, NO MYSTERY,” according to Bettina.
“It’s unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from,” the socialite and model wrote. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”
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