Trump says he has “no idea who Umar is” and calls it “not a big deal”
President of the United States, in a statement to NBC News
“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 from the wedding. It was an ‘afterparty’ given in their honor. Not a big deal! I was not present at the party.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
NBC News' report, read in full on 2026-09-22, published the evening of September 14, 2026, the day Bettina Trump's Instagram post and President Trump's statement to NBC both appeared. It also gives background on Kremlev's history with the Trump family and the 2016 Trump Tower meeting.
Before the quotation
The statement was issued the same day, September 14, 2026, that Bettina Trump acknowledged Kremlev's role on Instagram.
After the quotation
Four days later, Trump gave a different account, described in a superseding position-event.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Kremlev funding a wedding-related celebration for Donald Trump Jr. is an ordinary, permissible gift, comparable to wedding gifts other people receive, and Kremlev has since been repaid.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Donald Trump Jr.'s acceptance of a Kremlev-funded wedding celebration was improper, Trump neither confirms nor flatly denies that an afterparty funded in part by Kremlev took place; he disputes his own familiarity with Kremlev and disputes that Kremlev paid for the wedding itself as opposed to a separate afterparty, while dismissing the episode as "not a big deal." The dominant thrust downplays the episode's significance rather than defending it as proper, so minimizes fits better than defends_or_excuses; four days later he gave a different, more forthcoming account, recorded as a separate, superseding position-event.
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Should the Senate Judiciary Committee Subpoena Donald Trump Jr. Over His Kremlev-Funded Wedding Celebration?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else. Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden's foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now. The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president. Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands.”Read statement
“It's totally allowed. And a lot of people have parties and all. But, as I understand it, he paid them back. I hear he paid them back. That's very common. I've given wedding parties to numerous people.”Read statement
“spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President's son. What did he get in return? We need answers.”Read statement