MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai Madison Trump, was an unexpected addition to the lineup of speakers at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night, saying she wants Americans to get to know “a side of my grandfather that people don’t often see.”
“To me, he’s just a regular grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking and he always wants to know how we’re doing at school,” the eldest of the Republican presidential nominee’s 10 grandchildren said in what her father, Donald Trump Jr., revealed was her first speech.
“When I got an excellent grade, my dad printed it out so my friends could see how proud he was of me,” she said.
“He calls me during class and asks how my golf is going and tells me all about his golf game, but I have to remind him that I’m at school and he needs to call me back later.”
The 78-year-old former president watched and smiled as she spoke to an attentive audience.
“When we play golf together, if I’m not on his team, he tries to understand my thoughts and I’m always amazed at how I’m not influenced by him,” Kai Madison said.
“But I have to remind him that I’m a Trump supporter, too.”
“He’s always asking me how I’m doing, even when we’re in court,” she continued.
“He always pushes me to be as successful as I can be. Of course, he sets the bar pretty high, but maybe one day I’ll catch up to him.”
The former granddaughter and future first grandchild said she was shocked by the assassination attempt that left her grandfather grazed by a bullet at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“I was shocked to hear he’d been shot on Saturday. I just wanted to know if he was OK. It was heartbreaking that someone could do this to someone else,” she said.
“So many people put my grandpa through hell, yet he’s still standing.
“Grandpa, you are such an inspiration. I love you,” Kai added.
“The media has portrayed my grandfather as someone he was not, but I know the real him. He is a very caring and loving man. He truly wanted the best for this country and he is fighting every day to Make America Great Again.”
President Biden, who will be Trump’s rival in the presidential election on November 5th, also has a close relationship with his grandchildren, and has even let his eldest daughter Naomi, who will be getting married on the lawn of the White House in 2022, live in the White House.
The 81-year-old president has frequently spoken about calling his other grandchildren and often appears in public with his son Hunter’s 4-year-old son, Beau.
But he came under fire for repeatedly saying he only had “six” grandchildren, an implicit denial of the existence of Hunter’s illegitimate daughter, Navy Joan Robert, 6. After a flurry of negative press, including a New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd urging him to acknowledge little Navy Joan, he finally acknowledged them as part of the family last year.
