Donald Trump's Appearance at Grandchild's School Sparks Flurry of Reactions

A video of former President Donald Trump attending an event at his granddaughter's school quickly went viral on social media, igniting an avalanche of responses.

Supports of the former president referred to the video as "precious" and "heartwarming" while critics accused him of using the little girl for a photo opportunity as he campaigns for president.

The viral clip of Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential race, amassed nearly 3 million views and thousands of responses in just a few hours after it was shared on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday afternoon.

Lara Trump, who served as campaign adviser for the former president after marrying his son Eric Trump in 2014, shared the video on X, identifying the little girl as her daughter Carolina, one of the MAGA leader's 10 grandchildren.

In the nearly 30-second clip, 4-year-old Carolina holds her grandfather's hand before showing him her desk.

"When top priority is showing Grandpa your desk at school #GrandparentsDay," Lara Trump posted on X Wednesday afternoon.

Newsweek reached out via email on Wednesday to representatives for Donald Trump and Lara Trump for comment.

Donald Trump Attends Granddaughter's School Event
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is pictured November 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Florida. Trump on Wednesday attended an event at his young granddaughter's school, stirring online reactions. Joe Raedle/Getty

The clip, which also raked in more than 3,500 replies and 43,000 likes, sparked an outpouring of praise for the MAGA leader, with supporters hailing him as the "best grandpa ever."

"This is just an amazing and touching moment," Malcolm_fleX48 said in an X post. "I bet she felt like the biggest person in the world to have Grandpa there."

Some compared the video of Trump to some of President Joe Biden's recent encounters with children, where critics have accused the Democrat of acting "creepy," including a viral incident in Finland over the summer when the president pretended to bite a little girl.

LagerthaMuadDib, who identifies as a MAGA Trump supporter, posted on X that "Trump is great with kids."

"He never sniffs them or touches them inappropriately," the user posted.

Despite a trove of support, the clip from the "Grandparents Day" event also ignited criticism of Trump, with social media users accusing the former president of using his grandchild for "photo ops" on the campaign trail.

"When your top priority is seamless photo ops," AFellaNamedGus posted on X.

X user MilenaAmit, who identifies as a supporter of one of Trump's GOP presidential rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told Trump to "enjoy retirement."

"This is great, grandpa should enjoy retirement and grandpa outings with the kiddos. Leave governing to men in their prime," MilenaAmit posted.

Other X users highlighted the former president's legal woes, referring to Trump as a "criminal" and questioning if his grandkids will visit him in prison.

Trump is in the midst of a civil fraud trial in New York, in addition to facing several criminal indictments, including state and federal cases stemming from his alleged interference in the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all cases.

"Does she know grandpa and daddy tried overthrowing the government," Ryan Shead posted on X. "Will you let her visit them in prison?"

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About the writer


Maura Zurick is the Newsweek Weekend Night Editor based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her focus is reporting on U.S. national news ... Read more

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