NEW: Donald Trump Jr. Officially Makes Public Debut With New Girlfriend

Donald Trump, Jr. is stepping out with his new girlfriend, a younger woman who disrupted the former first son’s engagement and has provoked palace intrigue about whether she is angling for a prominent perch in the new administration.

The oldest son of President-elect Donald Trump made the rounds at Mar-a-Lago’s New Year’s Eve celebrations with Bettina Anderson, 38, a West Palm Beach socialite who met Don Jr. while she mingled in conservative circles as a former prosecutor and Fox News contributor. Friends of the 47-year-old Trump prodigy have pleaded with him to break off the fiery relationship, citing Anderson’s probing of aides and associates about opportunities to serve on powerful boards like the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. None of that appeared to affect Don Jr. on Tuesday night, however.

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Photos of the happy couple, obtained by the Daily Mail, show the smiling younger Trump sporting a black tux and bow tie while Anderson graced Mar-a-Lago’s red carpet in a sequined and golden floor-length dress. They preceded President-elect Trump, who took a few questions from reporters before entering as he held hands with wife Melania Trump. Others present for the social affair were Elon Musk, accompanied by his youngest child X, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and his wife Usha, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Photos from the Daily Mail

President-elect Trump reiterated his support for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and confirmed that he would be attending the funeral for the late President Jimmy Carter. Asked if he’d spoken with the former president’s family, Trump demurred. “I’d rather not say,” he told reporters. Trump took the stage later in the evening to thank well-wishers before letting the songs and dancing begin for the countdown bash.

Sources have told the Mail and other outlets that Don Jr. called it quits with ex-fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle after a rocky year together. In August, the former first son was spotted canoodling with Anderson at a restaurant before news of the broken engagement became public. Guilfoyle appeared at that month’s Republican National Convention alongside Don Jr. to watch President-elect Trump accept his party’s nomination, but insiders said the relationship was effectively over by that point. Earlier this month, the president-elect appointed Guilfoyle to be the new administration’s ambassador to Greece, an enviable post that some saw as a consolation prize for her failed relationship with his son.

Following the Mar-a-Lago Christmas party, Anderson took a social media swipe at anonymous critics who accused her of using Don Jr. to climb the social ladder. An Instagram story contained a narration of a passage from the Book of Exodus which reads, “So let them lie. Let them manipulate. Let them talk. You just be still, because when God is on your side, who can stand against you?” Meanwhile, allies of the Trump family have pushed back against Anderson’s claim that she is a “big Republican,” telling outlets she “wasn’t MAGA to begin with.”

“The transition is delivering big wins for the country,” one source in Trump’s inner circle told the Daily Mail. “We can’t afford to have any headaches or liabilities trying to grift their way to more Instagram followers. … Especially ones who aren’t MAGA to begin with.”

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