Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told CNN that Donald Trump Jr.’s own money and a reported friendship with a Russian oligarch set the financing of his wedding apart from the controversy over Hunter Biden’s foreign business work. Host Laura Coates challenged that comparison after a ProPublica report published Monday said Umar Kremlev largely paid for Trump Jr.’s May wedding to Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas.
ProPublica identified Kremlev as a Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The outlet reported that he covered festivities on a private island that can cost around $100,000 a night. The same report said the fireworks company used for the wedding charges about $70,000 for comparable displays.
Coates asked why a wealthy foreign national’s role in Trump Jr.’s wedding should not draw the same Republican scrutiny once aimed at former President Joe Biden’s son. Luna answered first by talking about Trump Jr.’s finances, then said the two cases were not alike.
Luna cites Trump Jr. wealth and says Kremlev is a friend, not a business partner
“According to public records out there, Don Jr.’s net worth potentially may be $300 million. I don’t think that he would need to take a gift like this unless it was actually from a friend,” Luna said. Luna’s comments come as the former president has faced scrutiny for his own family priorities, such as when he skipped Don Jr.’s wedding to post memes.
She later said Trump Jr. was “independently wealthy” and therefore there was “no influence being made financially because he could easily pay for something like that.” Luna argued Hunter Biden’s situation differed because she said there was evidence tying his business work to his father’s office.
“There’s a big difference between someone knowingly using their father’s position and there being evidence of that, of which came out in the Hunter Biden [case], which then resulted in the investigations into the laptop and those emails,” she said.
Coates replied that both men were private citizens and that closeness to a president could still make foreign ties relevant. Luna kept describing Kremlev as a friend.
She also said the timing of the ProPublica story stood out and mentioned recent attention on Jared Kushner and Russia-Ukraine talks. “I just think that the timing is very coincidental that all of a sudden this is coming out and it’s specifically pertaining to a Russian oligarch,” Luna said.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. told ProPublica he recognized the friendship. The statement said “Umar is a personal friend,” but “not someone he has a business relationship with.”
Published: Sep 15, 2026 10:30 am