Kai Trump, 19-year-old granddaughter of former President Donald Trump, started her freshman year at the University of Miami this late August and joined the women's golf team [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Before leaving her home in Jupiter, Florida, she recorded an emotional farewell video in which she cried, saying, "I’ve been like literally sobbing. It’s just like really sad that I have to say goodbye to like everyone today. I’m not like a very emotional person at all, so this is like really weird for me to cry" [4]. In another statement, she expressed the difficulty of parting with friends, saying, "明天不用跟媽媽道別，但今晚要和其他所有人道別，我現在光想到這件事就很難受。" [1].
Kai revealed in videos and interviews that she had gone about three days without eating properly before starting college, sustaining herself mostly on sugar-free soda. She explained, "Emma got me some frozen foods because I haven't eaten in like three days." Her friend Emma visited her apartment and brought groceries including frozen foods, fruit, pasta, and bread to help her eat [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Her first week at the University of Miami was packed. She juggled golf training sessions, athlete meetings, regular classes, and early team meetings beginning at 7 a.m. on Mondays [1, 4]. However, on Wednesday of her first week, September 2, she contracted strep throat. Due to her illness, Kai returned home to Jupiter to receive care from her mother, Vanessa Trump [4, 5, 6]. Kai said, "I got sick with strep on Wednesday, my first week of school. I came all the way back to Jupiter because I was so sick. I needed like my mom to nurse me back to health" [4].
Vanessa Trump, who was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in 2026 and undergoing treatment, was also confronting her own health struggles during Kai’s transition, adding an emotional layer to the family’s recent months [5].
Kai Trump is followed by 1.52 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, where many of these personal videos and interviews have surfaced [5].
She will continue her studies and athletic commitments at the University of Miami while recovering from the illness at home.
