Donald Trump has revealed some of the thoughts that occupy his mind when he’s playing golf.
Trump, 79, opened up during an hour-long vlog filmed by granddaughter Kai Trump, 18, as the pair played during a round of their favorite sport.
Filmed in August but released on Sunday, the vlog, titled “Playing golf with President Trump (My Grandpa)” scored more than one million views in 24 hours.
At one point, Kai, the first child of Donald Trump Jr. and the president’s first grandchild, recalled how the president once told her that the “fairway doesn’t know how old you are,” referencing the closely mown strip of short grass on the course. He then began to brag about his apparent achievements on the green.
“I won a club championship where I was 50 years older than the young guy I played,” Trump told his granddaughter.
“Recently, can you believe it? And I don’t think about golf. I’m not thinking about golf, I’m thinking about other things Russia and China.”
Kai then weighed in, noting, “When I’m playing in a tournament and I don’t think about golf and I think about other things I do better.”
Trump has had both China and Russia on his mind all year. The already complicated relationship between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping turned nuclear after the president posted on Truth Social on Friday that he would impose 100 percent retaliatory tariffs on China from November 1.
Donald Trump golfing with granddaughter Kai Trump. screen grab
The president responded to China’s “extremely hostile letter to the World,” indicating that they would begin imposing export controls on November 1.
China announced last week that it would tighten export restrictions on rare earth elements and other materials, including magnets used in tech manufacturing of products from iPhones to aircraft engines.
The country produces around 90 percent of the world’s rare earths. The new restrictions means anyone using China’s rare earth equipment must get their approval for sales.
“This affects ALL Countries, without exception, and was obviously a plan devised by them years ago,” Trump posted. “It is absolutely unheard of in International Trade, and a moral disgrace in dealing with other Nations.”
Trump said on Sunday he is sticking by his 100 percent tariff plan.
“Right now it is. Let’s see what happens,” he said on Air Force One on the way to Israel. “You know what November 1 is for me? It’s an eternity.”
US President Donald Trump, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s President Xi Jinping attend a meeting at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
He was also angry that China’s letter arrived the day the Middle East peace deal was announced. “The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote. “I wonder if that timing was coincidental?”
On Sunday, Trump backflipped with a Truth Social post. “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT.”
Trump has also had a strained relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing war with Ukraine, which Trump has been unable to resolve.
He had claimed his friendship with Putin would see him be able to negotiate a ceasefire on “Day 1″ of his second term as president.
In April, he claimed he was joking. “Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point,” Trump said. “Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Fox News analyst Brit Hum said last month Trump’s “man-crush” on Putin was over.
“I think he’s soured on him now,” Hume told host Bret Baier. “The relationship, the friendship, if there ever was one, is over.”
Trump had reportedly thought negotiating peace in Ukraine would be “one of the easy ones” but was frustrated by Putin refusing to negotiate.
“I get along very well with Putin, and I thought that would have been… I’m very disappointed in him because I thought this would have been an easy one to settle, but it turned out to be maybe tougher than the Middle East,” Pravda reported last week.
