The First Granddaughter-Vlogger
Behind the scenes of the inauguration with Kai Trump, and a must read on how YouTubers helped propel her grandfather to the White House again.
First, a reality check. President Donald Trump claimed last weekend that he “won the youth vote by 36 points” in November. It’s true that Trump made major inroads with young voters, particularly young men (more on that below). But let’s be clear – based on available data, he did not win the youth vote. Former Vice President Kamala Harris was the one who carried young voters.
Now that that’s clear…
‘Thanks, grandpa’
President Donald Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter Kai Trump vlogged the inauguration, and it’s currently one of the top-trending videos on YouTube.
The two-part series gives the more than 2 million people who have watched it so far a behind-the-scenes look at inauguration weekend and what it’s like to be a part of the Trump family.
Regardless of how you feel about Trump and his policies, there’s no denying that there are people in this country who only know what happened at the inauguration because of this vlog, and their perspective is informed by her first-hand account. That’s pretty unique — and smart.
We’ve talked a lot about Trump’s approach to the creator ecosystem and willingness to get up close and personal, off the cuff, without a script — which resonates with young people and helped him make inroads with this demo (as well as all Americans).
Here my key takeaways about what Kai’s vlog signals:
#1: Kai’s BTS footage is one of the clearest indications of Trump-world’s adoption of new media and willingness to give unvarnished access to Americans (of all ages). We didn’t see anything like this from the Biden grandchildren. In both parts one and two of the series, Kai documents the mundane (like eating steak and mashed potatoes while hanging out with her friends in her hotel room), to the historic (like visiting the White House for the first time since her grandpa’s second inauguration). Part two of the series features a cameo from Don Jr. and gives viewers an intimate view of White House rooms they’ve likely have never seen before.
#2: First family, they’re just like us. Or so it seems… Purposeful or not, the backstage access shows her followers that — in some ways — she’s just the girl next door. At the start of the vlog, Kai admitted she’s just like the rest of us… she hadn’t realized how much she used TikTok until it was banned for a hot-sec. “Thanks, grandpa,” she said, referring to the fact that TikTok is back. “He took one for the team.” She also wore mis-matched socks (relatable content). In part two, she’s asked what it’s like to be the granddaughter of the 47th president of the United States. “To me he’s just like a normal grandpa,” she said.
#3: An embrace of trending brands.
Like any creator does, Kai highlighted some brands in the vlog, which is interesting for a member of the first-family (though not necessarily abnormal in Trump-world). She thanked American designer Sherri Hill for her beaded silver Inaugural ball dress, decided which pair of Golden Goose sneakers to wear (yes, they’re making a comeback with Gen Z), her friend ate Skinny Pop, and the camera spanned over the cult-favorite energy drink, Celsius.
Noteworthy reads
Op-ed: It’s All Good, and You’re Perfect, Pamela Paul for The New York Times
Gen Z’s civil war: Hard-partying Zoomers slam their homebody ‘boring grandma’ peers: ‘I’m 20, not 85!’, Brooke Kato for The New York Post
‘The Rizzler’ and the Creeping Childishness of Pop Culture, Helen Holmes for The New York Times
Professors teaching Gen Z say they’re more anxious than millennials and have already given up on the American Dream, Preston Fore for Fortune
That’s not surprising…
Young people across the political spectrum feel the American Dream is out of reach, or even dead, amid the rising cost of living and higher education. As the Trump 2.0 era begins, they’re looking for him to prove them wrong. I joined NY-1’s Annika Pergament on Tuesday to discuss what young Americans are looking for as Trump takes office for the second time.
One more critical read, and my thoughts
The Second Trump Presidency, Brought to You by YouTubers, Davey Alba, Leon Yin, Julia Love, Ashley Carman, Priyanjana Bengani, Rachael Dottle, and Elena Mejía for Bloomberg Technology
I’ve been fixated on the Gen Z gender gap since I started covering youth politics. It’s exceptionally clear that a huge swath of young men have felt left out of our national dialogue amid a focus on women’s rights and (necessary) movements for social justice.
According to the Bloomberg report, “young men are lonelier than ever, with those aged 18 to 23 the least optimistic about their futures,” likely looking for community.
So while mainstream media celebrated girl bossing and power women, in recent years, a cohort of bro-friendly podcasters spoke to that audience of jaded young men, who were itching to feel heard and seen.
These podcasters, YouTubers, and media personalities aren’t just spewing right-wing talking points. Whether merited or not, they have the ‘lived-experience’ that many of the young men I’ve spoken to in my travels share: they’re tired of feeling blamed for being men. The success of the message pushed through these creators channels was that it wasn’t initially about politics, it was about culture.
The Bloomberg journalists found that across the nine YouTubers studied, their guests were “often famous personalities with broad cultural appeal, including athletes, musicians, comedians, entrepreneurs and internet influencers. The content is billed as entertainment for men.”
Republicans successfully infiltrated these creators’ channels because the content was always politically coded, not just overtly political. Once they were in, they cultivated these relationships over time.
When Trump went on the podcasts, the interview wasn’t really seen as an ad for his campaign for president. It looked and sounded organic, because they had been speaking his language the whole time.
Trump’s appearances had the guise of anti-politically correct entertainment, locker room-talk so to speak, which resonated with a group of young men who sorely wanted someone to represent them.
This is such an interesting thing happening in the world. Really appreciate the in-depth analysis. I never thought we'd have a "Presidential" vlogger