New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker spotted an overlooked detail in the Trump family’s response to questions about the Putin-linked Russian oligarch who reportedly helped bankroll Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish wedding in the Bahamas
Bettina Trump defended accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding expenses from Umar Kremlev by describing him as “our dear friend.” But Baker noted Monday that a representative for Eric Trump who attended the celebration gave ProPublica a very different answer.
“Bettina Trump, Don Jr.'s wife, defends having a Putin ally finance part of their wedding trip, saying he was simply ‘our dear friend,’” Baker wrote Monday. “Such a dear friend that brother Eric's rep told @propublica that ‘Eric has absolutely no clue who this person is, nor has never heard his name.’"
Reactions to Baker’s observation arrived swiftly.
“This is a great point,” CNN senior political reporter Aaron Blake wrote on X.
“Incredible stuff,” posted Max Steels, senior communications director at gun safety advocacy group Everytown. “They can't help but post through it no matter how much worse they make the situation for themselves.”
“The Epstein global billionaire class are all ‘dear friends,” author Derek Cressman told his followers in a social media post.
“I love when my dear friends give me hundreds of thousands of dollars for my wedding,” wrote sports photographer Jordan Teller, while another X user, @xJonNYC delivered a one-word reaction: “Ooops.”
Bettina Trump posted a lengthy social media response Monday, dismissing the growing questions and calling her wedding “intimate, deeply personal and one of the most beautiful days of our lives.”
“For anyone determined not to let the facts get in the way of a good story: NO CONSPIRACY, NO MYSTERY,” she wrote on Instagram. “Just a private family wedding, a wonderful weekend with friends and one hell of a party.”
In the post, she again called Kremlev “our dear friend.”
Bettina Trump, Don Jr.'s wife, defends having a Putin ally finance part of their wedding trip, saying he was simply "our dear friend." Such a dear friend that brother Eric's rep told @propublica that “Eric has absolutely no clue who this person is, nor has never heard his name.” https://t.co/5BeBbZyjWP
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) September 14, 2026