The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., reportedly spent time hunting with Umar Kremlev, the Russian billionaire who helped bankroll his wedding celebrations. The outing adds another story to a relationship that has already drawn questions in Washington.
Donald Trump Jr. reportedly went on hunting trip with Umar Kremlev
Umar Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association and has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reporting by the Financial Times placed him with Donald Trump Jr. on a two-day hunt in western Mongolia in August. The outlet pieced the trip together from social media posts, flight tracking data, local sources, and public records.
Trump Jr.’s team did not push back. A spokesperson claimed the two men hunted together and said a mutual friend from the hunting community introduced them. They insisted the bond has nothing to do with money or deals.
“Don has made clear that he has a personal friendship, not a business relationship, with Umar,” the spokesperson said. They also pointed to the common interests behind the friendship. “Their friendship is largely based on their shared love for hunting, fishing and the outdoors. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they went hunting together earlier this year.”
The connection first became public in September, when Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina Anderson, acknowledged that Kremlev contributed to the cost of their May wedding weekend in the Bahamas. His contribution ran to hundreds of thousands of dollars and covered items such as fireworks and event planning. The groom’s father, President Donald Trump, skipped the wedding.
Trump Jr. and Kremlev have known each other since at least last year, when they shared a boxing panel in Istanbul. Days before the wedding, Kremlev traveled to China as part of a group that joined Putin.
Congressional Democrats have since started looking into the relationship. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, wrote to Trump Jr. that the ties to Kremlev “may be the most serious allegation against you to date.”
