Meet Trump’s granddaughter, Gen Z ‘whisperer’ … and golf rival
Kai Madison Trump, 17, has gone viral lifting the veil on White House life — and helping to remould the president’s image
She has been called one of President Trump’s greatest assets, his Gen Z “whisperer” who just happens to be his favourite golf partner.
Few had heard of Kai Madison Trump, Trump’s eldest grandchild, before the inauguration last week. Then millions searching online for a behind-the-scenes look at the day stumbled upon the 17-year-old’s little-followed YouTube account, which had mostly been sharing vlogs about the merits of different golf swings.
“My grandpa became the president again,” read the title of her 14-minute video, which quickly racked up more than three million views. Kai, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her father, Donald Jr, is filmed getting ready and even gives viewers an unofficial tour of the White House.
Between mouthfuls of biscuits and Red Bull bought from the US Capitol canteen, she jokes with her father before Trump’s swearing-in, defying a federal ban on filming inside the building. Also included are clips of the inaugural ball, where she wore a bedazzled silver gown.
Her father chose Kai to be his partner for the first dance, having recently separated from Kimberly Guilfoyle, his former fiancee whom Trump has chosen as ambassador to Greece. “I love this little smurf so much,” Trump Jr coos in his daughter’s video. “I’m so proud of her.”
It received thousands of comments, including one that suggested she was “basically the princess of the United States”.
Kai began posting on YouTube last year when she launched her page with a video entitled “A Regular Day in the Life of Kai Trump”.
Kai is named after her maternal great-grandfather Kai Ewans, a Danish-American jazz musician. Her mother is the New York socialite Vanessa Haydon, whose previous partners are said to include Leonardo DiCaprio and a Saudi prince.
Kai was born in New York before moving to Jupiter, Florida, with her mother and four siblings after her parents separated in 2018. She attends the private Benjamin School in Palm Beach and is expected to graduate next year.
One fellow student of Kai’s, who did not wish to be named, told The Times: “She is super well-liked, but much more into the sports side of things than the social. She’s very down to earth.”
She said there had been occasions when Secret Service agents had turned up at the school. “We all thought it was pretty cool,” the pupil said. “But I guess for her that’s just totally normal.”
Kai is one year younger than the president’s youngest child, Barron, who is her half-uncle. She revealed in a video that as kids the pair liked to play soccer together in the White House grounds during Trump’s first term.
She first came to the public’s attention for her address to the Republican national convention last summer. Kai told the audience that Trump was “just a normal grandpa … he gives us candy and soda when our parents are not looking. He calls me during the middle of the school day to ask how my golf game is going and tells me all about his. But then I had to remind him that I’m in school and I have to call him back later.”
Her speech was seen as a wider campaign strategy to paint the Republican candidate as a family man, in the absence of a speech from his wife, Melania.
Kai’s social media accounts paint a picture of President Trump at odds with his public persona. Asked in a video she posted last year whether her grandfather was similar to how he was portrayed, Kai said: “The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person, but I know him for who he is. He’s very caring and loving, he truly wants the best for this country.”
Melissa Deckman, the author of The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy, suggested the appeal of Kai’s videos was that they allowed Trump to be heard in the “unfiltered, less scripted, and conversational tone that Gen Z often craves”.
Like her father, who hosts his own podcast, Kai appears to be a skilled interviewer, leading engaging Q & As on her TikTok and Instagram accounts with famous sports figures including Rory McIlroy.
Like her grandfather, she is a keen golfer. In a video posted on her YouTube channel, Kai said she began playing at the age of two and credited her mother with getting her into the sport. She has won several local championships and has recorded a competitive handicap of +0.5, helping her to secure a sponsorship with Callaway. Her classmates include Tiger Woods’s son Charlie.
She said of playing golf with the president: “When we play golf together, if I’m not on his team, he’ll try to get inside of my head. He is always surprised that I don’t let him get to me, but I have to remind him I’m a Trump too.”
She was pictured at an event for the conservative youth organisation Turning Point Action, but unlike many in the Trump family, Kai seems to have little interest in pursuing a career in politics.
At the end of the viral inauguration video, she spoke about how excited she was for the next four years and suggested she would be sharing more candid moments in the months to come. “I’m so happy for him … I’m so happy that our family gets to do this again,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to showing you guys it.”
The Times
