President Donald Trump shocked a crowd of attendees by showing up at a MAGA (“Make America Great Again”)-themed wedding in New Jersey.
President Trump walked into the July 20 wedding and was met with chants of “USA! USA!” as seen in video obtained by TMZ. The president then ushered forth the bride and groom to pose with him for photos.
President Trump Made a surprise appearance at a wedding MAGA themed wedding pic.twitter.com/fRlmQqWkug
— blenda (@newsblenda) July 21, 2019
Although it was a shock that the president unexpectedly showed up at the wedding, the timing and location worked out well for the couple. The bride, Nicole Marie, sent the president many invitations to the wedding, TMZ reported. The invitations included photos of herself running into the president at prior events.
Even more convenient was the location of the wedding: the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, in New Jersey. The president was already at the resort for a weekend stay, the New York Post reported.
According to his Facebook page, the groom, PJ Mongelli, lives in Staten Island, New York, and works at Camelot Counseling of Staten Island, Inc., a company that provides counseling for people who abuse drugs and alcohol.
Mongelli has a photo from April 2016 on his Facebook page where he and others are posing with Trump.
In 2017, the couple got engaged, also at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, according to TMZ.
July 4 MAGA Wedding
This was not the only MAGA-themed wedding but it is the first one known where President Trump made an appearance.
On Independence Day, a multi-ethnic couple had a MAGA-themed wedding in Kalamazoo, Michigan. One of the bride’s dresses included a design featuring “Make America Great Again” in red letters, running vertically down a white dress.
“The dress is actually an Andre Soriano original,” said bride Audra Johnson, via Fox 17. “It’s actually made out of a MAGA flag.”
Soriano is famous for his original Trump gowns, including a famous design worn by singer Joy Villa on the red carpet at the 2017 Grammy Awards.
.@Joy_Villa: I’ve lost friends over my support of President Trump, but my life has changed for the better since wearing the ‘MAGA’ dress pic.twitter.com/CRnBXrRCkO
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) April 10, 2017
Joy Villa’s Trump dress at the #Grammys pays off with a boost in album sales https://t.co/AVixyuJYZP pic.twitter.com/pDFh1Kqxlk
— billboard (@billboard) February 14, 2017
The wedding featured the wedding party in formal attire in patriotic red, white, and blue colors. Johnson’s fingernails were painted with American flags, M Live reported.
When the wedding photos made a splash on social media, some that attended were subjected to threats from those with different political views. Johnson had militia members providing security for her overnight, and one of the groomsmen had to call the police over bomb threats.
“It gets really sad when you realize that there’s such a divide in this country that we can’t even disagree,” Johnson told M Live.
Some tried to criticize Johnson by calling the wedding racist. Johnson responded “I’m the granddaughter of a Filipino immigrant, my husband’s black,” The Sun reported.
Johnson doesn’t understand some of the negative reactions she has gotten.
“It wasn’t a political stunt – it’s legit what we wanted. It wasn’t to make a political statement,” Johnson told M Live. “I want people to realize that it was such a diverse group of people that got together that day. We were able to understand that we don’t all have to agree to still share love together. I think that’s what people are missing out on.”
