Insiders and friends of the Trump family are doing everything they can do to get Don Jr., 46, to end his new relationship with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, 38.
Allies of the president’s eldest son are worried his new flame isn’t ‘MAGA enough’ after her previous support for the Black Lives Matter movement and strict COVID rules.
And now they are also expressing concerns that her notorious party girl reputation in Palm Beach isn’t highbrow enough to be associated with the first family.
The pair took their relationship public immediately before his father will be sworn in as the nation’s 47th president on January 20, 2025.
Anderson plans to join Don Jr. at Trump’s Inauguration next month, a source told DailyMail.com, which would be her first public event alongside the first son.
‘It’s one thing to worry about Palm Beach shenanigans making a stop at Mar-a-Lago,’ said a source close to the transition team. ‘But to let those problems penetrate the White House is a new level of trouble.’
At least two people close with Don Jr. allege that she is only using their friend as her latest step in her ‘social ladder climbing’ and carefree influencer lifestyle.
But her sudden publicity doesn’t seem to be bothering the first son as he and Anderson jetted off to Italy for a romantic getaway days after the news of their relationship broke.
Anderson has publicly posted pictures of love letters and flowers sent to her from Don Jr. and also openly documented their luxurious European escape.
A close personal friend of Don Jr.’s told DailyMail.com that the pair ‘expect there to be gossip and trash talking, just because that’s kind of the world of Palm Beach and, you know, the universe they live in.’
He added that it’s ‘not really a surprise to either that people are sh** talking.’
If anybody has said anything negative to Don about Bettina, he hasn’t been concerned enough to relay any of those concerns to any of his close friends, he went on.
However, a source who worked for the Trump campaign for the last five years told DailyMail.com that Don Jr. is slowly starting to ‘wake up’ to how Bettina is perceived in MAGA circles as the public is starting to learn more about her.
First whispers of her relationship with Don Jr. started in September when images emerged of the couple kissing and cuddling while dining at a restaurant near the Trump’s southern Florida residence.
At the time, the 46-year-old father-of-five was still publicly engaged to former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle.
More images of the two together were obtained in mid-December by Daily Mail and just hours later it was revealed that Don Jr.’s relationship with Guilfoyle was over after a four-year engagement.
President-elect Trump then announced Guilfoyle would be his Ambassador to Greece in his next administration.
Stacey Bendet, fashion designer and founder and CEO of Alice + Olivia, said that the smears are due to other women ‘fixating on competing’ and not empowering each other.
‘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.’
‘Don adores her for good reasons!!’ she added in a text.
Anderson has been spotted with Bendet at many Alice + Olivia events over the years and the pair are close.
The account for the company posted a TikTok from January thanking Bettina for hosting an annual ‘galentines’ charity event.
But another person who says they have been close with Don Jr. for decades claims that Anderson is the furthest person they want close to Trump and his family.
Others say that Anderson is trying to use Don Jr. as a ‘stepping stone’ to reach even ‘bigger fish’ – which may include Elon Musk.
Someone who works in the modeling business and knows Anderson from years in the industry speculated to DailyMail.com that she is gunning to get into the inner circle of billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, known as the ‘first buddy’ has been by the president-elect’s side ever since the 2024 election on November 5. He was tapped to lead the new DOGE agency to root out federal government waste.
Those in Palm Beach who have known Anderson for decades say she regularly dates wealthy older men who fit into her upper class lifestyle.
One source says that she’s often showered with gifts from her suitors, who are often wealthy and good looking, much like Don Jr.
Asked why there is such an uprising from those in Palm Beach about Anderson, many had the same answer: ‘We want to protect the Trump brand and don’t want her close to the family.’
Some say that a firm that works with Anderson, Kilo Content, calls reporters and paparazzi to tip them off when the socialite is going out on the town with Don Jr. because she wants to grow her notoriety.
The firm did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com about the accusations.
Others say she only wants to be close with the Trumps because it’s the ‘in’ thing right now.
They pointed to her formerly more liberal views, which was first reported by DailyMail.com earlier this month.