Donald Trump has revealed some of the thoughts that occupy his mind while playing golf.
Trump, 79, opened up during an hour-long vlog filmed by his granddaughter Kai Trump, 18, as the two played during a game of their favorite sport.
Filmed in August but released on Sunday, the vlogtitled “Playing Golf with President Trump (My Grandfather)” was viewed over a million times in 24 hours.
At one point, Kai, Donald Trump Jr.’s first child and the president’s first grandchild, recalled how the president once told him that “the fairway doesn’t know how old you are,” referring to the strip of short mowed grass on the course. He then began boasting about his apparent accomplishments on the green.
“I won a club championship where I was 50 years older than the young man I was playing with,” Trump told his granddaughter.
“Recently, can you believe it? And I’m not thinking about golf. I’m not thinking about golf, I’m thinking about something else, Russia and China.”
Kai then spoke, noting, “When I’m in a tournament and I’m not thinking about golf but about other things, I do better.”
Trump has been thinking about China and Russia all year. The already complicated relationship between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping went nuclear after the president posted on Truth Social on Friday that he would impose 100% retaliatory tariffs on China starting November 1.
Donald Trump plays golf with his granddaughter Kai Trump. /screenshot
The president responded to China’s “extremely hostile letter to the world” by saying it would begin imposing export controls on November 1.
China announced last week that it would tighten export restrictions on rare earth elements and other materials, including magnets used in technological manufacturing of products ranging from iPhones to airplane engines.
The country produces about 90 percent of the world’s rare earths. The new restrictions mean that anyone using Chinese rare earth equipment must obtain their permission to sell it.
“This affects EVERY country, without exception, and it was obviously a plan designed by them years ago,” Trump posted. “This is absolutely unprecedented in international trade and a moral disgrace in relations with other nations.”
Trump said Sunday he would stick to his tariff plan 100 percent.
“For now it is. Let’s see what happens,” he said. Air Force One on the way to Israel. “Do you know what November 1st is like for me? It feels like an eternity.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
He was also unhappy that China’s letter arrived on the same day the Middle East peace deal was announced. “The Chinese letters were particularly inappropriate as this was the day when, after three thousand years of chaos and fighting, there was PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote. “I wonder if that timing was a coincidence?
On Sunday, Trump reversed course with a Truth on social media. “Don’t worry about China, everything will be fine! The highly respected President Xi just had a bad time. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The United States wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT.”
Trump has also had strained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing war with Ukraine, which Trump has failed to resolve.
He said his friendship with Putin would allow him to negotiate a ceasefire on the “first day” of his second presidential term.
In April, he said he was joking. “Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that in an exaggerated way, because to make a point,” Trump said. “Obviously people know that when I said that it was in jest, but it was also said that it would end,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. The two leaders meet for peace negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. /Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Fox News analyst Brit Hum said last month that Trump’s “crush” on Putin is over.
“I think he’s bitter at him now,” Hume said host Bret Baier. “The relationship, the friendship, if there ever was one, is over.”
Trump had would have thought negotiating peace in Ukraine would be “one of the easiest”, but was frustrated by Putin’s refusal to negotiate.
“I get along very well with Putin and I thought it would have been… I’m very disappointed in him because I thought it would have been easy to resolve, but it turned out to be maybe more difficult than the Middle East,” Pravda reported last week.
