Donald Trump Jr.’s daughter Kai Trump, the granddaughter of former President Donald Trump, delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday evening.
Kai, 17, is the oldest granddaughter of the former president. She is the daughter of Donald’s oldest son, Donald Jr., and Vanessa Trump, who is now divorced from the president’s son. She has frequently posted on social media about her golfing but has largely stayed out of politics until now.
She has more than 137,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts with her grandfather from time to time. In March, she shared that she won the ladies’ club championship at Trump International Palm Beach. She also showed support for her grandfather after an assassination attempt against him over the weekend, writing, “We love you Grandpa. Never stop fighting!”
During her speech, in which she was introduced by her father, she described the former president as “just a normal grandpa.”
“He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking. He always wants to know how we’re doing in school. When I made the high honor roll, he printed it out and showed his friends how proud he was of me,” she said.
Kai Madison Trump, daughter of Donald Trump Jr., speaks during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.
AP Photo
Kai Madison Trump hugs her dad, Donald Trump Jr.
AP Photo
Kai Madison Trump, daughter of Donald Trump Jr., speaks during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.
AP Photo
Kai also said the former president would sometimes call her during the middle of the school day to talk golf, ask about how her game is going, and tell her about his.
“But then I have to remind him that I’m in school, and I’ll have to call him back later. When we’re playing golf together, if I’m not on his team, he’ll try to get inside of my head. And he’s always surprised that I don’t let him get to me,” Kai said.
She also addressed the assassination attempt against Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
“I was shocked when I heard that he had been shot. I just wanted to know if he was okay. It was heartbreaking that someone would do that to another person. A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell, and he’s still standing,” she said.
Trump was speaking at the rally when he was shot on stage, with a bullet hitting the upper part of his right ear. The gunman identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by the Secret Service, and one rally attendee was killed.
Political commentator Van Jones praised her speech on CNN.
“The granddaughter came out and opened up our hearts, and the son just hit us upside the head with the baseball bat. So I’m not sure which was they’re going, but that young lady did her job of warming her up, humanizing him. Making people feel that they can actually like this guy,” he said.
Update 7/17/2024 10:48 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
