Trump 'crashes' MAGA-themed wedding, hugs and kisses bride as delighted guests chant 'USA! USA!'
Bedminster, New Jersey: President Donald Trump dropped by the wedding of two of his supporters at his country golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, hugging the newlywed bride and kissing her on the cheek, Saturday, July 20.
According to TMZ, PJ Mongelli and Nicole Marie had a “Make America Great Again (MAGA)”-themed wedding, splashing their ceremonial invitations with adorations for the POTUS and going as far as making a scrapbook of their fan encounters and social media pages. It was reported that the reception hall for the wedding was decked with flags that read "Trump 2020." To make their dream come true, Trump, who was already visiting the club over the weekend, showed up at the couple's wedding, greeting the pair with handshakes, hugs, and kisses before leaving the event 15 minutes later.
Videos posted on Instagram by attendees of the wedding showed Trump waving and smiling at the gatherers as the crowd began chants of "USA" and "MAGA." After entering the reception area, he pointed at the newlyweds and gestured them to come over. The bride and groom soon obliged and made their way to the front, standing by either side of the commander-in-chief and fist-pumping in the air.
"So excited to have #POTUS stop by my friend’s wedding. She’s one of the most #patriotic people you’ll ever meet maybe besides my sister. #weddingcrashers #presidenttrump," wrote one of the guests on social media. There were indications that the appearance by Trump was not an unplanned one as all the attendees of the event had to go through additional security checks while entering and exiting the venue. Some of the photos also showed that the president stopped by the bridal suite to talk to the couple prior to dropping by their reception. He was not accompanied by any of his family members to the wedding party.
Trump's appearance came just a day after he went back on his stance of distancing himself from his supporters' chants of "send her back" at the North Carolina rally on Wednesday night, which targeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who was among the four minority congresswomen attacked by the POTUS in a tweet, where he told them to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came."
When he was asked Thursday whether he concurred with the "racist" and hate-filled chants, he said that he did not and insisting he “started speaking very quickly” to quell them, which was found to be inconsistent with video of the incident. On Friday, during an Oval Office event to honor Apollo 11 astronauts, Trump addressed a question from one of the reporters asking him about the chants, where he flipped on his previous stance and called the people in the crowd "incredible patriots."
"You know what I’m unhappy with? I’m unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can hate our country,” Trump said, alluding to Omar, Vox reported. "I’m unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can say anti-Semitic things. I’m unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman — in this case, a different congresswoman — can call our country, and our people, garbage. That’s what I’m unhappy with. Those people in North Carolina, that stadium was packed. It was a record crowd and I could’ve filled it 10 times, as you know. Those are incredible people, those are incredible patriots. But I’m unhappy when a congresswoman goes and says, ‘I’m going to be the president’s nightmare.’ She’s going to be the president’s nightmare. She’s lucky to be where she is, let me tell you. And the things she has said are a disgrace to our country.”