Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, has said his daughter Kai Trump, then aged 17, decided she wanted to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC) after her grandfather narrowly survived an assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
He made the revelation on Friday at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, during an interview with the group's founder Charlie Kirk.
Kai Trump won plaudits for her July 2024 RNC speech, which took place just days after her grandfather, then seeking a second term in the White House, was lightly wounded by a gunman at his rally in Pennsylvania. Kai Trump described Donald Trump as "just a normal grandpa" adding: "I was shocked when I heard that he had been shot. A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell, and he's still standing."
Trump Jr.'s revelation shows how the Trump family responded personally to the assassination bid and comes as his daughter has become a significant social media personality in her own right.
What To Know
Speaking to Kirk, Donald Trump Jr. described being with his daughter on a fishing trip when he heard his father had been shot.
"I was with her, on July 13th when my father was shot. I got an unusual call from my daughter that morning saying, 'Hey, I want to go fishing.' Which, you know, if you have a teenage daughter...you're not often calling dad to go do something. So when you call dad he's going to do it."
Trump Jr. said they were about 13-14 miles offshore when he "got the call" adding: "I picked up my phone. It's like 'Your dad's been shot'...We didn't know anything. And we're frantically kind of calling. I guess the only thing that I guess they did right that day was shut down other communications."
The president's son continued: "I think we set the sea speed record from offshore into Jupiter, where we live and, you know, finally we were able to get my dad on the phone and, you know, it was sort of a harrowing thing. By then we had seen some of the videos of him coming back up with a sort of 'fight, fight, fight,' and I just got on the phone...I'm not usually at a loss for words, but that was one of those where I was like, 'I got nothing.'"
According to Trump Jr., the incident had a big impact on his daughter, who he said "has probably spent more time with my dad one-on-one than I have" as she "plays [golf] with him every weekend when he was around, and that was all the time."
The following morning Trump Jr. said he got a call from Kai and "she was like 'you know what? I want to speak at the RNC.'"
Kai was cheered by conference attendees after Kirk told Trump Jr. "your daughter is a very good golfer" after which the host added: "I told you she had a lot of fans here."
Kai has built up her own social media following with 3.2 million followers on TikTok, 1.8 million on Instagram and nearly 1.2 million on YouTube. She shares content about her life and some relating to her grandfather, such as his second presidential inauguration in January.
What People Are Saying
Speaking at the 2024 RNC Kai said: "My name is Kai Madison Trump. I am the granddaughter of Donald Trump. I'm speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don't often see. 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. When I made the high honor roll, he printed it out to show his friends how proud he was of me. I know."
What Happens Next
Kai Trump is likely to continue producing content for her fans on social media. It remains to be seen whether she will make any more political interventions going forward.