When President Trump arrived at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of Ireland’s president in Dublin, last weekend, his son Don Jr and Don Jr’s new wife, Bettina, were given prominent positions in the welcoming line.
The couple stood on the red carpet as they were introduced to Ireland’s president, Catherine Connolly. Further along stood three of Don Jr’s children, including his 12-year-old daughter Chloe, while presidential aide Natalie Harp waited at the far end.
Bettina, 39, showed no obvious sign of nerves during her appearance on the international stage. In a style choice reminiscent of the First Lady, she draped her tailored coat over her shoulders like a cape. If the visit was a public audition of sorts, the new Mrs Trump appeared fully ready for the role.
“She was looking pretty comfortable,” a source close to Bettina told Our News Outlet. “She was also showcasing her relationship with Trump, taking mirror selfies of herself and Chloe with the President on the plane. She was really leaning into it.”
Bettina’s entry into the family’s select inner circle now appears firmly established. In one Instagram photograph, she took a selfie with President Trump and Chloe in front of a mirror mounted above a sink—an intimate, slightly self-conscious display of access. Another image showed her seated opposite Trump on the aircraft as they looked out toward the Emerald Isle.
There were also subtle but revealing moments between Bettina and Don Jr during the Irish visit. To close observers, those exchanges suggested a change in their dynamic, as well as growing confidence from Mrs Trump in her public-facing role.
“Before their wedding in May, Bettina often appeared to take Don’s lead, while he sported the puffed chest and tendency to dominate the spotlight of his alpha-posturing father,” body language expert Judi James told Our News Outlet.
“As the family group lined up outside to be introduced to the President of Ireland though, it was Bettina smiling serenely and rotating in the direction of the cameras and chatting in what looked like a very confident bid to be visible.”
Bettina Trump’s ascendance into the rarefied inner circle now appears complete
When President Trump arrived at the official residence of Ireland’s president in Dublin last weekend, his son Don Jr and new wife Bettina were given prominent positions
Another photograph showed Bettina seated opposite Trump on an aircraft as they looked out over the Emerald Isle
Don Jr, 48, appeared “tense” at times, James said. His occasional smiles were often sudden, brief “lightning smiles,” she added, contrasting them with Bettina’s more relaxed expressions.
Lip reader Nicola Hickling said Bettina appeared concerned about whether the children were comfortable. Don Jr smiled and reassured her: “Don’t worry about it, they always fidget.”
He then gestured along the line and asked: “Are you okay, Chloe?”
Moments later, Bettina tapped her hand against her husband’s waist and, according to Hickling, told him: “Hold hands.”
Don Jr promptly released his clasped hands and reached for Bettina’s hand.
James said that, after taking his hand, Bettina stroked it with her thumb. She interpreted the movement as a “soothing gesture of loving reassurance”—or perhaps a quiet reward.
The Ireland trip may have gone smoothly, but controversy was waiting for the couple when they returned to the United States.
Soon after Air Force One landed, ProPublica published a report alleging that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with links to Vladimir Putin, had contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Trumps’ post-wedding celebrations in the Bahamas.
The story presented Bettina with her first major public-relations test. She and her husband responded defiantly in a statement posted to her Instagram, saying they were “incredibly grateful” to their “dear friend Umar” and insisting they had no reason to apologize or feel embarrassed.
‘Friendship doesn’t require a political motive,’ they said. ‘Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda.
‘So, for anyone determined not to let the facts get in the way of a good story: NO CONSPIRACY, NO MYSTERY. Just a private family wedding, a wonderful weekend with friends and one hell of a party.’
Still, on Friday Trump told reporters that his son had assured him he planned to pay the Russian back.
The controversy could prove a bump in the road for the latest addition to the first family, and a lesson that, in the political world, friends sometimes need to be chosen carefully.
In her previous incarnation as a prominent Palm Beach socialite, friends have always been very important to the former Bettina Anderson.
A profile in Avenue Magazine once said of her: ‘Every town has an ‘It’ girl and in Palm Beach it’s Anderson.’
In another profile, in Fashion Week Daily in 2022, she was asked what she was most proud of.
‘I think I’m most proud of the incredible network of people I am blessed to have,’ she said. ‘And my ability to create connections and make introductions and put people together professionally and socially.’
A source, who has known Bettina for decades, told Our News Outlet she exudes class, but has always been ‘hungry for more.’
In a power trait reminiscent of the First Lady, she wore her tailored coat around her shoulders as a cape
A source close to Bettina told Our News Outlet that Bettina ‘was also showcasing her relationship with Trump, taking mirror selfies of herself and Chloe with the President on the plane’
While the trip was undoubtedly successful, problems awaited when they returned to America
‘She would buy an outfit for an event, and go back and forth, saying, this isn’t good enough, I need something better. She kind of just did that with her life,’ the source said.
Perhaps in keeping with that reputation, Bettina wore not one, but two dresses for her wedding and celebrations. Both were by London-based designer Safiyaa, a favorite of Catherine, Princess of Wales no less.
Bettina worked closely with founder Daniela Karnuts and the embroidery for her evening dress – a ‘bespoke double silk organza set fully embellished with crystal, metallic, and silk’ – took 150 hours, according to Safiyaa.
But however beautiful the dresses and the moment, there is no escaping the fact that recent revelations about the Russia-linked Bahamas farrago could not have emerged at a worse time for the GOP, coming as they did, just weeks ahead of the midterms.
In the febrile pre-election atmosphere it has become, for some Republicans behind the scenes, a point of genuine unease. They regard it as an inexplicable self-inflicted wound.
With voters beset by rising gas prices and food costs, the last thing Republican candidates need to be defending on the doorstep is a lavish Russian-funded party in the Bahamas.
It has also reminded some MAGA loyalists of Bettina’s historic social media posts.
She is a registered Republican but, in 2020 during the pandemic, she posted an image of herself wearing a mask with a sign that read: ‘Only you can stop the spread of ignorance.’
She also posted a blacked-out screen that social media users were using as a signal of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The wedding party controversy is also a distraction from what the President wants to talk about, including tax cuts and immigration enforcement.
While he has insisted it is ‘no big deal,’ many in his party do not agree.
And one of those who does not appear to view Kremlev as a ‘dear friend’ is the other Mrs Trump – the First Lady.
Melania has led a successful campaign to reunite children kidnapped from Ukraine and taken to Russia during the ongoing war. As of August, the campaign has reunified 34 children with their families in Ukraine.
In a noticeably frosty statement, her spokesperson said: ‘Mrs Trump does not, and has never had, a relationship with Mr Kremlev.
Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin, had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the Trumps’ post-wedding celebrations in the Bahamas, per a report
Melania Trump issued a statement saying she ‘does not, and has never had, a relationship with Mr Kremlev’
For Bettina, it was a first big PR test. She and her husband doubled down in a statement, declaring they were ‘incredibly grateful’ to their ‘dear friend Umar’
Indeed, if it was a try-out, then the new Mrs Trump seemed all in
‘Mrs Trump played no role whatsoever in organizing the wedding event and was not privy to any aspect of its financial planning.’
Melania was not in the Bahamas for the celebrations and, therefore, did not meet Kremlev.
She could have remained silent amid the storm, as she often does, but her decision to publicly distance herself is perhaps a sign of how much the episode is reverberating in Trump world.
A source familiar with how Don Jr and Bettina met told Our News Outlet they were introduced by his ex-wife Vanessa, who is now in a relationship with Tiger Woods.
Since the wedding, President Trump himself jokingly said he had noticed a change in Don Jr.
‘My son Don is here,’ he said in Ireland. ‘He’s calmed down so much. He’s like a different human being. He had a lot of energy. Now he’s a little less energy.’
Did he also perhaps notice that Don Jr was looking sharper?
According to a medical spa in Palm Beach, the first son had Ultherapy to ‘naturally define his jawline’ ahead of the wedding.
Ultherapy is a non-invasive skin-lifting treatment meant to improve skin laxity, performed by an FDA-cleared ultrasound device.
The procedure typically costs upwards of $2,000 for one session.
The spa, Pure Skin Palm Beach, said Bettina had been going there for five years and had become a ‘dear friend.’
It said preparations for the wedding began months before and Bettina had also done Ultherapy, along with a host of other treatments including Sculptra, Renuva, MOXI, Tixel, laser hair removal and ariessence pure PDGF+.
There were ‘regenerative hair restoration, customized facials, wrinkle relaxers and wellness IV therapy,’ and ‘we even rejuvenated her hands’ to help show off her wedding ring.
‘Coordinating treatments around a demanding travel schedule and public appearances required meticulous planning, allowing every result to peak beautifully for her wedding day,’ the medical spa wrote in the caption.
With such a focus on attention to detail for the big day, perhaps it is unfair of anonymous Republican snipers to ask whether Bettina should have been aware of the optics of accepting the largesse of her husband’s Russian friend.
After all, she probably has not seen the video from last month of Kremlev palling around and clinking champagne glasses with Putin in St Catherine Hall at the Kremlin.
The Russian President awarded him the Order of Friendship for his work as head of the International Boxing Association (IBA).
She may also not have known that, between the Kremlin and the Bahamas party, ‘dear Umar’ found time to travel to China while Putin was on a state visit there.
The intriguing relationship between Kremlev and Don Jr can be traced back at least one year to September 2025, when they appeared on stage together at the IBA Sport and Business Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.
Trump Jr, Executive Vice-President of The Trump Organization, sat between Kremlev on his right, and Rasheda Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s daughter, to his left.
‘I am proud to stand here with my friend Donald Trump Jr, who shares this belief that fairness, respect and integrity are the foundations of sport,’ Kremlev told the audience, according to an IBA statement.
A source familiar with how Don Jr and Bettina met told Our News Outlet they were introduced by his ex-wife Vanessa, who is now in a relationship with Tiger Woods
‘She was looking pretty comfortable,’ a source close to Bettina told Our News Outlet
‘Together, we will protect the transparency of boxing and open the door for the next generation.’
According to the IBA account of the event, Trump Jr said: ‘What Umar is doing – restoring actual fairness, bringing back the purity of boxing, and giving the youth of today a chance to step away from the computer and into the ring – is extraordinary.
‘This is not just about boxing; it’s about life lessons, discipline, integrity and opportunity. That’s the legacy we need, and I am proud to call Umar not only a leader but a friend.’
Our News Outlet has reached out to Don Jr and Bettina for comment.
Representatives for Kremlev told ProPublica he and Trump Jr met a couple of years ago and have a ‘friendly relationship.’
They said: ‘Mr Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances.’
Certainly, that is the line Bettina has held to, pushing back on detractors this week in a statement some might view as faintly naïve – others might view as a quiet indicator that there’s a new Mrs Trump in town, and she’s no pushover.
