Kai Trump, the golf-playing and grandfather-endorsing 17-year-old is making headlines for more than just her recent commitment to the University of Miami’s Division One golf team.
The young starlet made her grand political debut at the Republican National Convention, where she spoke lovingly about her grandfather, presidential elect, Donald Trump.
“To me, he’s 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.”
Kai Trump
Who is Kai Trump?
Kai is the eldest grandchild of President-elect Donald Trump and daughter of the divorced Donald Trump Jr and Vanessa Trump. Formerly a New York resident, she now lives in Florida with her mother.
Kai says she dreams of becoming a professional golfer and aspires to be a leader in the future.
Kai’s Social Media Presence
In her free time, Kai is known as a social media personality and an amateur (albeit extremely talented) golfer. Her new YouTube channel has amassed over 200,000 subscribers, and her election-day vlog has over three million views. Viewers are fascinated to see a member of the first family share the inner workings of their life in this way; it is the first time in history viewers have had access to this intimate worldview.
She posts mostly “Day In My Life” style videos, with a strong focus on the time she spends golfing (naturally). She is active on TikTok as well, posting synopsized versions of her longer-form YouTube vlogs.
The convenience of her influence
Kai endorses her Grandfather’s political agenda and is working to make him more appealing to young Americans. She only ever refers to him as ‘Grandpa’ in public, helping to humanize and soften his image. Beyond that, she posts behind the scenes of her family dynamic which includes attributing Uncle status to billionaire Elon Musk, creating an account on X as recently as Nov 2 and generally gushing with optimism about the future of politics in America.
Kai is a convenient influencer for the Trump campaign. Her viral election night video indicates a level of professionalism that goes beyond casual content creation. It’s obvious that in the wake of the election, she was a great tool for expanding Trump’s reach and appealing to younger audiences. But now that the election has come and gone, proving to be a success for the Trump dynasty, what will Kai do next?
Perhaps it’s a result of her striking resemblance to Ivanka or her central location in family photos, but people on the internet are starting to theorize that she will eventually be the next big Trump family leader to emerge.
She’s young, cool, pretty, and in a great position to be the next great figurehead of the MAGA movement.
Nothing is as it Appears
Media literacy gets more and more complicated as time goes on, while it simultaneously becomes all the more important to understand what is being put out to the public.
Consider the figure of Kai Trump as the perfect paradigm that the internet is constantly trying to influence unsuspecting videos. As a micro-influencer, Kai isn’t telling you to support Trump because it will make you pretty, classy and cool. Instead, she’s offering a softer approach to the Magaverse. Her fun and casual online persona is a strong effort to change the image people have of Trump supporters.
Her presence isn’t overtly telling Americans how to feel, but she is holding her viewers’ hands in making them wonder ‘If I like this girl, and she’s a part of the Trump family, does that mean I can also align myself with Trump’s ideologies?’
Speaking about her grandfather Kai says:
“When we play golf together, if I’m not on his team, he’ll try to get inside of my head. I know. And he is always surprised that I don’t let him get to me, but I have to remind him I’m a Trump too.”
Kai Trump
Share your thoughts on America’s newest political influencer, Kai Trump, with VALLEY on X @Valleymag.
