On the 24th (local time) at the White House in Washington, Arabelle Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walk down a hallway before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive./Courtesy of AP Yonhap News
On the 24th (local time), as Arabella Kushner, the granddaughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, attended the state welcome ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, attention is focusing on Trump’s use of his “grandchildren.”
Arabella, now 15, has a special connection from nine years ago, when she and her then 3-year-old younger brother, Joseph, sang a Chinese folk song in front of the president and his wife. When Xi visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in April 2017, Arabella was 5.
The siblings sang the traditional Chinese folk song “Jasmine Flower (茉莉花)” and recited the classic “Three-Character Classic.” Arabella also recited a poem by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. At the time, Ivanka released a video of the two children’s performance, saying it was a performance for Xi and his wife, and Trump retweeted it. The scene later led to Arabella’s “China connection.”
The episode drew significant attention in China as well. At a regular briefing, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson called Arabella “a little envoy of China-U.S. friendship” and said she “is receiving broad love from the Chinese people.”
In 2017, when she was 5 years old, Arabelle wears a traditional qipao and recites poetry in Chinese while standing on a table./Courtesy of Ivanka Trump Facebook screen capture
Arabella is said to have learned Chinese from a Chinese nanny starting around 16 months old. Her mother, Ivanka, also attended a Lunar New Year (Spring Festival) event at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., with Arabella in early 2017, shortly after Trump first took office.
When Trump visited China that November, he personally showed Xi a video of Arabella singing and reciting classics in Chinese. Arabella’s video also appeared on a giant screen at the state banquet in Beijing.
Arabella’s Chinese skills became a hot topic in China at the time, and Xi gave the Chinese in her video an “A+.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then described Arabella as a symbolic figure related to U.S.-China friendship.
Nine years later, in September 2026, Arabella appeared before Xi again. The 5-year-old Chinese-speaking girl is now 15. This time, she did not sing a Chinese song but appeared as part of the official state visit program.
Arabella was seated close to President Trump and the first lady, and to Vice President JD Vance and his wife. Next to Ivanka and her daughter stood Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ivanka and Arabella stood in a position closer to the front than the U.S. top diplomat.
However, Joseph, who sang with Arabella nine years ago, was not on the official guest list for this state banquet. Ivanka and Arabella were invited, and Trump’s other children, including Eric Trump and his wife and Tiffany Trump and her husband, were also listed.
On July 15 (local time) at the red carpet for the 2026 ESPY Awards at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York, Kai Trump appears and waves./Courtesy of UPI Yonhap News
This is not the first time Trump has brought his family into the public eye. He has frequently presented family members, including his daughter Ivanka, before the public.
Kai Trump, the daughter of eldest son Donald Trump Jr., drew attention in U.S. domestic politics. Kai took the stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention and gave a speech about her grandfather.
Kai, then 17, described Trump as a “regular grandfather,” sharing how he asks about school life and talks golf as a family member. Kai has since communicated with the public through golf and social media.
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