Kai Trump's Stunning Transformation Through The Years

Kai Madison Trump, Donald Trump's granddaughter, entered the public eye to a greater degree in July 2024 after making her political debut at the Republican National Convention. She quickly rose to internet stardom — securing 1.5 million Instagram followers as of this writing – following her grandfather's reelection win in 2024.

From the glimpses into her daily life and the behind-the-scenes videos from important events, such as election night and the inaugural ball, it's clear Kai Trump is growing up fast. It's hard to believe that she was still losing her baby teeth during Trump's previous term as the president of the United States.

As an avid golfer, Kai has been in training since she was little. While her love for golf has stayed the same throughout the years, the aspiring athlete has gone through several changes, though her most noticeable change is her activity in politics. In an interview with Fox News, Kai Trump revealed that it was her idea to give a speech at the RNC after learning about the attempted assassination of her grandfather. "I was fishing on a boat with my dad and some friends," she recalled. "His phone was buzzing, and he picked up. The news broke, and no one for 90 minutes what was going on. All we knew was that he was shot, and that's it." She wanted to share her side of the story. "Once I got out on stage, it was just all from the heart."

Born on May 12, 2007, Kai Madison Trump is the eldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife Vanessa Trump, whom he married in 2005. During their 13-year marriage, the couple welcomed four more children: Donald III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe. In addition to being Don Jr.'s firstborn child, Kai is President Donald Trump's first grandchild.

As the eldest among the five siblings, Kai grew up taking care of her brothers and sisters. When the couple welcomed their second child, Donald III in 2009, Vanessa shared that Kai adjusted from being an only child to an older sister very well. "I'm breastfeeding, but sometimes I pump and put it in a bottle so she can feed him," she said in an interview (via People). "Kai loves it. She loves to sit there, she puts the pillow around, she copies me with the burp cloth."

A similar sentiment was shared by Don Jr. when the two welcomed their fourth child, Spencer, in 2012. He revealed that Kai and her brother were thrilled to meet their new sibling.  "Kai and Donnie are so excited!" Trump Jr. told US Weekly. The then-dad of four revealed that Kai, along with her brother, Donald III, had a great time helping their parents take care of their younger sibling, Tristan — the couple's third child. "They're so involved with Tristan and love helping me feed and change him – so they're looking forward to having another baby around!"

Kai Trump basically grew up on the golf course. In a YouTube video, Kai revealed that her journey with the sport started when she was just a toddler. "I learned how to play golf in New York City when I was 2 years old," she said. The avid golfer lived in New York City until the age of 13, when the family put down roots in Florida. Kai shared that her mother, Vanessa, was the one who introduced her to playing sports: "My mom would give me a golf club and a tennis racket, and I would just go out every single weekend in the summer and just play those sports." She favored golf over tennis, and it doesn't come as a surprise. Her grandfather Donald Trump owns multiple golf courses around the world and loves the sport with a burning passion. It appears that Kai has inherited her grandfather's passion. "Going to Westchester, [my mom] would just throw a ball at me, and I would have to putt it or chip it — that's how I really got into golf."

The sport also deepened her bond with the rest of her family. Kai regularly golfs with her father and grandfather, and in 2024, Vanessa posted an Instagram video of Kai playing golf with her sister, Chloe. "Golf has always been a huge part of my life and is my biggest passion," she wrote in her personal statement on her NCSA College Recruiting profile.

Kai Trump has been going to the gym with her father since she was 10 years old. In February 2018, Donald Trump Jr. shared a video of Kai lifting weights, and in April, the proud father shared an Instagram photo of himself and Kai in their workout gear. "Kai getting after it today at the gym with dad," Trump Jr. wrote in the caption. "Not sure how many more years I'll be able to keep up."

These early influences played a foundational part in Kai's life, as going to the gym has become part of the avid golfer's daily routine. As documented in her videos on TikTok and YouTube, Kai still hits the gym frequently before heading out to the golf court, and instead of training with her father, Kai has enlisted the help of a personal trainer. In 2024, she uploaded an Instagram reel sharing some exercises that make her strong and tagged Coach Alex Paup's IG handle in the caption. 

It's unclear when she stopped going to the gym with her father, but between Donald Trump Jr.'s emergence as a political force in light of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2024 and Kai's growing to be more independent, it makes sense that they no longer do some of the activities they did when Kai was a kid. On the other hand, the lack of presence of both her parents in her vlogs may hint at a tragic detail about Kai's life.

In 2017, Kai Trump was still losing her baby teeth. The then 9-year-old can be seen missing both of her canines (the sharp teeth right next to a person's front teeth) in many photos her father shared on social media that year. On April 7th, 2017, Donald Trump Jr. snapped a photo of Kai sitting in her grandfather's presidential chair at the White House when they came for a visit. Kail, who was in a black sweater and blue skirt, was showing off her missing tooth with a smile. "Kai Trump 2060???" Trump Jr. wrote in the caption on Facebook. "Now this is a ticket I can get behind..." He noted how comfortable the 9-year-old Kai looked sitting at her grandfather's desk and shared that she hadn't been able to see her grandfather since the inauguration. Previously, Trump Jr. shared another Facebook photo of Kai holding stacks of dollars at the Treasury Building, in which the tooth on the other side is visibly missing.

On April 14, Trump Jr. shared a Facebook photo of a $10 bill along with a baby tooth. It appeared that Kai had lost one of her back teeth. "Inflation at work," he wrote in the post. "Kai lost a tooth last night and the tooth fairy showed up." He bitterly recalled being excited as a kid to find the tooth fairy had brought $1 for a lost tooth. However, the same wasn't going to cut it with Kai. 

In 2018, Kai Trump was seen playing rough at an Easter egg hunt event in Mar-a-Lago. "Only my daughter could turn an Easter egg hunt into a combat sport. No more nice dresses if there's competition involved," Donald Trump Jr. wrote in the caption, referring to his eldest daughter Kai, who was the main subject in the Instagram carousel. In one of the photos, Kai can be seen holding a golden egg proudly after taking a great length to get it. However, her white dress couldn't avoid getting dirty in the process. Don Jr. also snapped a shot of the grass stain on her dress. "She found the golden egg getting aggressive and literally sliding through the thick shrubbery to beat out the others in her age group," he explained how it happened. 

On the following Monday, Kai attended the White House Easter Egg Roll in a dark blue dress and pink sweater. Trump Jr. again took it to Instagram to share activity photos from the events. In the caption, he shared that the Easter Egg Roll has been a White House tradition since 1878. "The kids had a great time with grandpa," he wrote. While Kai didn't play too rough, her passion for competition still didn't go unnoticed. "Kai maintained her status as undefeated in the main event." 

At the age of 17, Kai Trump made her political debut by delivering a speech at the Republican National Convention in July 2024 in support of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. She was introduced by her father, Donald Trump Jr. before taking the stage, where she delivered a brief but heartfelt testament about her grandfather. "To me, he's just a normal grandpa," she began her speech (via YouTube). Kai described their bond over their mutual love for golf and her grandfather's playful side, cheating at a game just so he could win. "When we play golf together, if I'm not on his team, he'll try to get inside of my head. And he's always surprised that I don't let him get to me. But I have to remind him that I'm a Trump too."

She shared that her grandfather's passion for golf made him forget that she had school during the day and he would ask about her well-being though he was the one in the Trump family to face criminal charges. She shared that she was shocked that her grandfather was shot a few days prior. "A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell, and he's still standing," Kai said. She stressed that the media has painted Donald Trump as someone different from whom she knew. "He truly wants the best for this country, and he will fight every single day to make America great again," she concluded her speech. 

The RNC speech marked Kai Trump's first step into the spotlight. Her social media accounts have received a massive boost of followers following Donald Trump's reelection on November 5, 2024. Kai started posting vlog on YouTube in October 2024 and has since shared 53 videos in total. At the time of writing, her vlog offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Election Night has racked up 4.8 million views. According to Newsweek, she had 63,000 subscribers on YouTube before Trump's win. At the time of writing she has 970,000 subscribers. Mark Beal, a Gen Z expert and communication professor at Rutgers University, told the outlet that Kai's massive following on social media and Donald Trump content makes Kai a Gen Z President Trump influencer. "Her content across golf and everyday life offers a glimpse into another side of the president and humanizes her grandfather," said Beal.

Melissa Deckman, the author of "The Politics of Generation Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy" shed some light on the importance of Kai's influence in the same interview. "Kai Trump's YouTube series, for instance, spends more time on fashion and food, but still manages to score political points," she said. "Her recent behind-the-scenes look at the inauguration, for instance, thanked her grandpa for saving TikTok." These contents not only offered Gen Z an unfiltered look at President Donald Trump but also offered him direct access to Gen Z audiences who may have little knowledge about politics.

Kai Trump is becoming serious about golf and is hoping to pursue an athletic career on a college level. She shared her secret of gaining more power as a golfer in a YouTube video. "I didn't gain weight or anything, I just started lifting a lot of weights with my trainer," she revealed. "That changed everything for me." Her intense weight training helped her strike the balls better, but it also came at a cost. "The only issue is like, some days, you're just sore, and you don't want to hit any balls." She also shared that it made rotating her body when swinging the club much harder. 

Amidst Donald Trump's presidential reelection in 2024, Kai didn't missed a day of golf training. She didn't let the politics affect her commitment to Benjamin girls' golf, where she serves as a captain. "[Kai] stayed positive, came to every practice, she definitely contributed and continues to with all this other stuff going on," Benjamin head coach Janet Coles told The Palm Beach Post (via USA Today) in 2024 on the first day of the state championship. "Honestly, I have done nothing other than applaud her." Earlier that year, Kai helped the team secure a district win, which sent them to the state championship. She shot an 80 on the first day and a 75 on the second day during the two-day tournament, in which her school's girls' team finished in 10th place.

Back when Kai Trump delivered her RNC speech, she rocked a wavy brunette look. While Kai is a natural brunette, she seems to have gone full blonde at Trump's victory party. When the budding influencer took to X, formerly Twitter, to celebrate her grandfather's reelection win, she shared a photo taken of them both, revealing her blonde hair transformation, which had her looking even more like a mini Ivanka. She was seen in blonde hair again at Donald Trump's 2025 Inauguration. A week later on January 27, Kai shared a series of behind-the-scenes carousal on Instagram, including pictures taken with her standing next to her aunt Ivanka, which quickly sparked lookalike comments. "Wow you look like your auntie, so many features. Stunning," one commenter wrote. "You look so so much like your Aunt Ivanka. Both beautiful," wrote another. From dressing style to the hair look, Kai Trump seems to have been taking fashion cues from the First Daughter. 

In her YouTube video, titled, "My life is about to change forever," Kai again revealed the secret behind her stunning transformation, which includes getting blonde highlights. She joked about her new hair looking "Ken-ish." After her hair appointment, the budding influencer headed to Bloomingdale to shop for an outfit for the Inauguration. Though she had a few other options, Kai knew the classic black sweater dress was a go when she tried it on. "This one is for sure," she said. "I like this one a lot."

Ever since making her political debut at the RNC, Kai Trump has made a series of headlines regarding her stunning style transformation. She showed up at Donald Trump's election night party with a sequin mini dress and a fancy Rolex watch. In the behind-the-scenes video titled "Kai Trump Election Night Vlog" she shared on YouTube, she joked about the silver heels that she wore to every special event. 

Her love for glitters and shimmers continued to the candlelight dinner, where she wore a shimmering blue Sherri Hill ball gown for the event. She opted for the same Badgley Mischka heels to pair with a crystal-studded slinky Sherri Hill gown to wear at Trump's inaugural balls. In her YouTube video, titled, "The presidential inauguration (part 1)," she revealed that it was her first time wearing the designer's work. "They look amazing on me," she said. 

Kai also took to Instagram to give fans a closer look at her silver Sherri Hill dress. In the following days, she updated fans with more photos and videos taken from the event, including a reel of her first father and daughter dance with Donald Trump Jr. on stage. On a more serious side, her grey turtleneck sweater dress look at the 2025 Inauguration ceremony didn't go unnoticed. It's all in the details — Kai completed her look with a black coat, gold heart-shaped pendant necklace, and matching gold chain.