Last year, Donald Trump Jr.’s longtime fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle was his proud date to Donald Trump’s annual Christmas celebration at Mar-a-Lago.
This year, Guilfoyle was replaced at the Mar-a-Lago holiday festivities by Trump Jr.’s new girlfriend, Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, the Daily Mail reported.
Unfortunately for the new lovers, some Trump family allies and insiders are not happy about Anderson’s quick ascension into the family orbit, the Daily Mail also is reporting. The 37-year-old model and influencer was photographed seated next to Trump Jr. at the Christmas Eve dinner table, near the president-elect and his wife Melania Trump. Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three children also attended the Christmas Eve dinner, Page Six reported.
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 15: Bettina Anderson attends “A Retro Chic Afternoon” hosted by FIGUE, at Designer and CEO, Liz Lange’s home, celebrating her inaugural collection with the brand and the book, Slim Aarons: Style on December 15, 2021 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for FIGUE)
Some of the allies and insiders have told the Daily Mail that Anderson “isn’t MAGA enough,” while two friends of Trump Jr. expressed concern that she’s essentially a shallow influencer and “social climber” who is using Trump’s oldest son to snag an even wealthier and more powerful romantic target — someone like billionaire Elon Musk.
“It’s one thing to worry about Palm Beach shenanigans making a stop at Mar-a-Lago,” a source close to the Trump transition team told the Daily Mail. “But to let those problems penetrate the White House is a new level of trouble.”
(L-R) Kimberly Guilfoyle looks on as Donald Trump Jr. speaks to reporters during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15, 2024. Days after he survived an assassination attempt, Republicans are set to nominate Donald Trump as the party’s official presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention taking place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15 to 18. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The source appears to be referring to what the Daily Mail said was an “open secret” simmering in Palm Beach circles in the late summer and fall — how 46-year-old Trump Jr. had begun “fooling around” with the younger, Anderson, even while he was still engaged to 55-year-old Guilfoyle, a MAGA firebrand and top Trump campaign fundraiser. Rumors about Trump Jr.’s dalliance with Anderson began in September when images emerged of the couple kissing and cuddling while dining at a restaurant near Mar-a-Lago.
Earlier this month, Trump Jr.’s relationship with the 37-year-old Anderson gained public recognition, after Trump announced that he was nominating Guilfoyle to be his ambassador to Greece. Guilfoyle’s nomination was seen by some political observers as a way that Trump could reward the former Fox News host for her political loyalty, while nudging her out of his “immediate sphere” and sending her off to Europe so that his son could openly pursue his new relationship with Anderson.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 05: Donald Trump Jr. records video as his father, Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, arrives for a campaign rally at Van Andel Arena on November 05, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump campaigned for re-election in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania before arriving for his last rally minutes after midnight in Michigan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
At the time, sources close to Trump Jr. told People that he had became tired of his six-year relationship with Guilfoyle, the former first lady of San Francisco and ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom-turned Trump loyalist. For one thing, Trump Jr. didn’t like Guilfoyle’s “style,” including her “tight dresses.” He felt that Anderson, with her honey-blonde hair and “Waspy” model looks, would “impress” his father and perhaps make her a more ideal romantic partner.
“Don Jr. has always wanted to look good in his father’s eyes,” the political source told People. Apparently, Anderson’s more natural, fun-loving style also was more to Trump Jr.’s taste these days, especially as he saw that she could become his “own Melania Trump equivalent,” a source told People.
“She is a party girl, and outgoing, and Don is smitten with her,” a Palm Beach source told People.
“Bettina is smart, sexy and savvy and knows it. She likes to have fun,” another source added. “Who knows what, if anything, will come from this.”
Trump family members also got tired of Guilfoyle’s attention-seeking ways. Sources told People and the Daily Mail that they expected that Guilfoyle knew about Trump Jr.’s affair with Anderson, but chose “to look the other way because she loves the power and lifestyle.”
Once Trump Jr. felt he could shed his public association with Guilfoyle, he began to “flaunt” his romance with Anderson, being photographed holding hands with her during a dinner date in with her in Palm Beach in December, the Daily Mail reported. After Trump announced that he wanted to send Guilfoyle to Greece, Trump Jr. and Anderson jetted off to Italy for a romantic getaway, the Daily Mail reported. Anderson also publicly posted photos of love letters and flowers sent to her from Trump Jr., and openly documented their European vacation.
Someone described as a “close, personal friend” of Trump Jr. told the Daily Mail that he wasn’t concerned about Anderson. He said he expected there would “be gossip and trash talking, just because that’s kind of the world of Palm Beach and, you know, the universe they live in.” If Trump Jr. has heard any concerns about Anderson, he hasn’t let this friend know, according to the Daily Mail.
Stacey Bendet, a fashion designer and close friend of Anderson’s, expressed dismay that her friend had become the target of social-climber rumors.
“I have been friends with Bettina for a decade, she is the kindest soul, she has the biggest heart, she is witty and wise, hilariously funny, and an Ivy League grad — anyone who says a word otherwise is just another societal example of women fixating on competing verse empowering,” said Bendet, CEO of Alice + Olivia, in a text to the Daily Mail.
Anderson has been seen at Alice + Olivia events over the years, the Daily Mail reported. Bendet added in her text: “Don adores her for good reasons!”
However, some Trump family allies feel very differently about Anderson and are “doing everything they can” do to get Trump Jr. to end their relationship, the Daily Mail reported. Someone who worked for the Trump campaign the last five years told the Daily Mail that Trump Jr. is “slowly” starting to “wake up” to how Anderson is perceived in MAGA circles.
Allies question her MAGA loyalty because of her previous support for the Black Lives Matters movement and her adherence to COVID-19 lockdown rules, the Daily Mail reported.
But they also wonder about her “notorious party girl reputation in Palm Beach,” which they think somehow isn’t “highbrow enough” to be associated with the Trump family, the Daily Mail also said.
Someone who works in the modeling business and who has known Anderson for years speculated to the Daily Mail that she’s using Trump Jr. as a stepping stone and would prefer to date someone like Musk. People who’ve known Anderson in Palm Beach also told the Daily Mail that she regularly dates wealthy older men.
Even though Musk already is the world’s richest man, he stands to gain even more power in the incoming Trump administration, according to critics of both Musk and Trump. These critics note that the billionaire SpaceX founder donated at least a quarter of a billion dollars to support Trump’s campaign, and he’s been rewarded by becoming a regular presence at Trump’s side since his Nov. 5 victory. Musk now is on tap to lead the new DOGE agency, whose purported mission is to drastically reduce federal government spending and “waste.”