Don Jr’s Wedding Had 40 Guests, None of Them His Dad, and Kimmel’s Monologue Revealed the One Thing Trump Prioritizes Over Family
America first?
Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas last week had about 40 guests, and none of them were his dad. Jimmy Kimmel used his late-night monologue to call out President Donald Trump for skipping the ceremony, taking shots at his priorities and even his golf habit.
Kimmel opened his May 26, 2026, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! by reading Trump’s Truth Social post explaining his absence. The president wrote that while he wanted to attend, “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.” According to Us Weekly, Kimmel responded, “See, he can be warm when he wants to. He loves Don Jr. He just loves the United States more.”
“This is a guy who golfs two, three times a week. He’s going to UFC fights with Vanilla Ice. He was too busy for his son’s wedding,” Kimmel said. He also joked about Trump’s track record with marriage, noting that the president has had three of his own. “But he did say Don and Bettina are gonna have a great marriage, and this is a man who knows a great marriage.”
Kimmel didn’t stop there
He then referenced the awkwardness of Don Jr. having to find someone else to give the wedding toast, quipping that without his father, the family had to “scramble to find somebody else to make a 90-minute toast about windmills and transgender weightlifters.” The joke plays on Trump’s tendency to veer into unrelated topics during speeches.
The wedding itself was a small affair on a private island in the Bahamas. Don Jr., 48, and his new wife, Bettina Anderson, 39, legally tied the knot on May 21, according to court documents. The couple had previously announced their engagement in January. This is Don Jr.’s second marriage. He was previously married to Vanessa Trump from 2005 to 2018, and they share five children together.
Trump’s absence from the wedding wasn’t just a one-off joke for Kimmel. The late-night host has been a frequent target of the president’s criticism. Earlier this year, Trump called for Kimmel to be fired after the comedian made jokes about Charlie Kirk following Kirk’s death. The pressure escalated after the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April. Both Trump and First Lady Melania pushed ABC and Disney to punish Kimmel for his jokes.
Trump’s frustration with late-night hosts isn’t limited to Kimmel
According to PEOPLE, he recently celebrated Stephen Colbert’s exit from CBS, calling it the “Beginning of the End” for “untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts.” Trump took aim at the remaining late-night hosts, including Kimmel. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” he stated.
He also praised Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, calling him “better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.” Representatives for Kimmel, The Tonight Show, and other late-night hosts didn’t respond to requests for comment about Trump’s threats.
Kimmel, for his part, didn’t seem fazed by the president’s attacks. In the same episode where he roasted Trump for skipping the wedding, he also mocked his recent medical exam at Walter Reed Military Medical Center.
The back-and-forth between Trump and late-night hosts has become a recurring theme
Kimmel’s monologue about the wedding wasn’t just about the absence itself. It was a commentary on Trump’s priorities, his public persona, and his ongoing feuds with the media. The president’s decision to skip his son’s wedding in favor of staying in Washington, D.C., became another example of his often-criticized approach to family and duty.
For Don Jr. and Bettina, the wedding was still a special occasion, even without the president’s presence. The couple is reportedly planning a second reception at the White House, where Trump and Melania are expected to attend. Kimmel couldn’t resist one last jab at the idea. “You’d hope so. They live there,” he said. “Can you imagine if they didn’t show up to that one, too? ‘We wanted to make it but we were unable to go downstairs.’”
The wedding drama is just the latest chapter in the Trump family’s complicated public relationships. Don Jr. has been a vocal supporter of his father’s political career, often appearing at rallies and defending him in the media. But the president’s absence at such a personal event highlights the distance that can exist even in high-profile families.
(Featured image: Gage Skidmore)
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