Watch: Kai Trump Breaks Down in Tears in an Emotional Goodbye to Family Before College | JP
Kai Trump expected leaving home for college to be exciting.
She did not expect the goodbye to hit quite this hard.
The 19-year-old granddaughter of President Trump broke down in tears while documenting the final days before she moved from Jupiter, Florida, to begin her freshman year at the University of Miami.
In the candid moment, filmed in her car, Kai said she had been “literally sobbing” as the reality of leaving family and friends finally set in.
“I’m just struggling right now,” she admitted, before adding that she was still excited about the new chapter ahead.
Watch the moment and the rest of her first-week vlog below:
The tears came before the moving trucks, shopping carts and first-day nerves.
They also revealed something far more ordinary than the political spotlight around her family: a young woman who loves her family and was not ready for a familiar season of life to end.
Kai Trump’s original YouTube vlog follows the entire transition from her final days at home through her first week on campus.
She said the approaching goodbye felt especially difficult because she does not normally consider herself an emotional person. She ultimately chose not to film the actual farewells because she wanted to be present with the people she was leaving.
Once she reached Miami, the pace changed quickly. The vlog moves through apartment setup, an early team meeting, classes, golf practice and the small practical challenges of living on her own.
Then her first week took another turn: Kai developed strep throat and went back to Jupiter so her mother, Vanessa Trump, could care for her.
The clip quickly spread beyond Kai’s own audience:
Kai Trump opens up about the emotional reality of leaving home for college, admitting the transition has hit her harder than she expected.
The 18-year-old says she has been struggling to eat and has been feeling overwhelmed as she adjusts to life away from home.
President… pic.twitter.com/oYIaX7A8PL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 3, 2026
For Vanessa, the move carried its own emotion.
The mother of five helped her oldest child shop for the apartment and get settled, while Kai praised her as “the best mom.” The transition came after a difficult summer in which Vanessa underwent treatment and surgery following a breast cancer diagnosis.
Fox News reported in August that Kai and Vanessa had already spent days becoming emotional together before the move.
Kai said her mother’s illness gave them unexpected extra time together during the summer. She described that time as a blessing and said Vanessa would be there “in a heartbeat” if she called from school.
That context gives the goodbye more weight. Kai was beginning the college experience she had worked toward for years, but she was also leaving home after a summer in which family time had become especially precious.
She remained clear that sadness was only one side of the moment. Kai repeatedly spoke about her excitement for college, her teammates and the chance to compete for Miami.
Kai Trump breaks down in tears over starting college: ‘I’m struggling right now’ https://t.co/mNhj4YwcVw pic.twitter.com/LobiQ66RMy
— New York Post (@nypost) September 2, 2026
Golf is not a side project for Kai.
The University of Miami’s official athletics roster lists her as a freshman on the Hurricanes women’s golf team for the 2026-27 season.
Her Miami biography notes experience on the Srixon Medalist Tour, the American Junior Golf Association circuit and South Florida PGA events. It also credits her with helping her high school program win four consecutive district team titles.
The school lists a second-place finish at the 2025 Major Championship at Village Golf Course among her junior results. It also records another second-place finish at the 2024 Martin County Junior Open and top-10 finishes at other Florida events.
Miami entered the season ranked No. 21 in Golf Channel’s preseason women’s college rankings.
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The Hurricanes opened their campaign by winning the Boilermaker Classic on Sept. 1, finishing at 10 under par in a 15-team field.
Kai’s roster entry places her in a lineup that mixes experienced upperclassmen with three freshmen. The team’s fall schedule continues with events in South Carolina, Colorado and North Carolina.
That is the demanding athletic world Kai is entering while also adjusting to classes, a new apartment and life away from home.
The attention surrounding her family guarantees that even ordinary milestones will become public stories.
But the heart of this one is simple. A daughter and granddaughter was excited to begin the next chapter—and heartbroken to close the last one.
Kai Trump breaks down in tears over starting college: ‘I’m struggling right now’ https://t.co/ZEOBjEm8KT pic.twitter.com/qlDY6WWeXd
— Page Six (@PageSix) September 2, 2026
That combination of hope and homesickness will be familiar to families who have watched a child leave for college.
Famous last name or not, some goodbyes are simply hard.