Donald Trump's Granddaughter Kai Trump Gives Rare Insight on Bond With Former President
For Donald Trump's granddaughter Kai Trump, the former president is just a "normal grandpa."
"He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking," the 17-year-old—who's the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex Vanessa Trump—shared onstage during the Republican National Convention July 17. "He always wants to know how we're doing in school. When I made the high honor roll, he printed it out to show his friends how proud he was of me."
Noting that "people don't often see" his grandfatherly side, she continued, "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 have to remind him that I'm in school and I have to call him back later."
In fact, Kai said that she takes after the 78-year-old both on and off the putting green, joking that she has to "remind him I'm a Trump, too" whenever he gets too competitive.
"He always encourages me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be," she shared. "Obviously, he sets the bar pretty high, but who knows, maybe one day I'll catch him."
Describing the Apprentice alum as "caring and loving," Kai added that she considers her grandfather to be an "inspiration."
Kai is the oldest of his 10 grandkids, which includes her siblings Donnie, 15, Tristan, 11, and Chloe, 10.
In addition, the 45th U.S. president is granddad to Ivanka Trump's kids Arabella, 13, Joseph, 10, and Theodore, 8, as well as Eric Trump's children Eric Jr., 6, and Carolina, 4.
For a complete guide to the Trump family tree, keep reading...
Ivana Trump was the first wife of Former President Donald Trump. Born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia—now Zlín of the Czech Republic—in 1949, she rose to fame as a competitive skier. And, thanks to her marriage to Austrian ski instructor Alfred Winklmayr in 1971, Ivana was able to travel often outside of Czechoslovakia.
According to her book Raising Trump, the model met Donald three years after her 1973 divorce during a New York trip, where she'd traveled for a Canadian fashion show ahead of the Montreal Olympics. They wed in 1977 and welcomed three kids: Donald Trump Jr. born in 1977, Ivanka Trump born in 1981 and Eric Trump born in 1984.
The pair's divorce was finalized in 1992 following his affair with Marla Maples, whom he later married.
However, Ivana—who then married Riccardo Mazzucchelli for two years followed by Rossano Rubicondi for less than a year—and Donald remained on good terms.
“Donald during the divorce was brutal,” she told ABC News in 2017. “He took the divorce as a business deal, and he cannot lose. He has to win. So he took about two years. And after the final situation was straightened up, we would just talk and we are friends.”
Ivana died in 2022 at age 73. According to NBC News, the New York City Medical Examiner said she died of “blunt impact injuries” and that her manner of death was an accident. A senior NYC official with direct knowledge added the circumstances were consistent with a fall on the stairs in her New York apartment.
In 1977, Ivana and Donald welcomed their eldest son Donald Trump Jr. He began working for his father’s company The Trump Organization in 2001 and now serves as the executive vice president. Don Jr. has also been involved in his dad’s political campaigns, including speaking at rallies and the Republican National Convention during his father's presidential runs.
He shares five children with his ex-wife, model Vanessa Haydon: Kai (who made a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention) Donald III, Tristan, Spencer and Chloe. Don Jr. is now engaged to Fox News alum Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Four years after the arrival of Don Jr., Donald and Ivana became parents to daughter Ivanka Trump.
Before her father’s presidency, the University of Pennsylvania alum worked at The Trump Organization. But after he was elected in 2016, the fashion brand founder—who had her own eponymous line—took on the role of Advisor to the President.
After her dad announced he would be running for president again in 2024, Ivanka revealed she would be stepping out of the political arena to focus on her family with husband, former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, and their children Arabella, Joseph and Theodore.
“I love my father very much,” she said in part of a 2022 statement obtained by NBC News. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”
Born in 1984, Eric Trump is the third child of Ivana and Donald. Like his brother, he works as executive vice president of The Trump Organization, which he joined in 2007.
He is married to Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, with whom he shares kids Luke and Carolina.
Marla Maples is Donald’s second wife, whom he met while still married to Ivana.
In Raising Trump, Ivana wrote the actress approached her about the affair during a trip to Aspen in 1989. Still, Marla said on a 2018 episode of the ABC podcast Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris that she “never considered” herself a mistress.
"My intention was to never bring hurt," she continued. "Do I wish more than anything that we could have had this relationship after his divorce papers were signed? Absolutely. I mean, with all my heart. How much heartache would it have saved so many people if I had seen that piece of paper before we got involved? But it didn't happen that way."
Marla and Donald welcomed daughter Tiffany Trump in 1993, and the couple wed later that year. However, the Dancing With the Stars alum and the 45th commander in chief announced their separation four years later and finalized their divorce in 1999.
After her parents’ breakup, Tiffany Trump relocated with her mother to California.
"She moved us out of New York to get out of the spotlight and let me grow up and find my own identity versus being in the shadow of a name or growing up very young with all that pressure,” Tiffany told People in 2016. “So, she wanted me to have a chance to have a normal childhood. As normal as possible. I think that she did well in that.”
She released her 2011 single “Like a Bird" and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 with a B.A. in sociology, focusing on law and society. She then went to Georgetown Law School, where she graduated with a JD in 2020.
In 2022, Tiffany wed Michael Boulos.
Melania Trump is Donald’s third wife and former First Lady of the United States. Born in Mesto, Slovenia in 1970, she is the second First Lady to be born outside of the U.S. and the only First Lady to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Melania met Donald in New York in 1996 while she was working as a model.
“It was a big fashion party that my friend organized, fashion week, and he invited me,” she recalled on a 2016 episode of On the Record With Greta Van Susteren. “That’s how we met with Donald.”
Melania and Donald married in 2005, and they welcomed son Barron Trump the following year.
Born in 2006, Barron Trump is Donald and Melania’s only child. While he has lived a more private life—relocating with his parents from New York to live in Washington, D.C. and then Florida—it looked like he might enter the political world after he was selected in May 2024 as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention. However, Barron declined the offer.
"While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party,” a statement from Melania’s office shared with NBC News at the time said, “he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments.”
