Kai Trump Just Made Donald’s Dynasty Saga So Much More Intriguing

And then there was Kai.

Just when you thought the Trump family takeover of the Republican party, and its convention in Milwaukee, was complete, enter Don Jr.'s daughter 17-year-old Kai Trump. She, apparently, called her dad on Monday morning saying that she wanted to talk about her grandad at the convention.

Kai was just the latest recruit to the Trump Family Cult, a political dynasty which has taken shape in earnest this week at the RNC.

All of the primetime speaking slots (excepting J.D. Vance) were held by Trump family members. Tonight it will be the turn of Eric who is expected to speak before his father's address to the RNC.

This is an expertly-choreographed Apprentice-style production, pitting family members against each other to see who might claim the biggest prize - the heir to the Trump political dynasty.

Trump’s Granddaughter Kai Makes RNC Debut: Praises ‘Grandpa’NEW GENERATION

Zachary Folk, Brett Bachman

It's a competitive field.

Monday night saw Lara Trump given a 21-minute primetime slot. Her brief was clearly to talk to (who knew?) the softer side of her father-in-law. She was there to sand down the rough edges of the former president. And, in keeping with how Donald Trump likes to keep his family at the heart of the business, she was installed, I mean elected, as co-chair of the RNC earlier this year.

This is not unique for political dynasties. John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Bobby, as Attorney General. And Bill Clinton appointed his wife, Hillary, to run his Task Force on National Health Care Reform.

Nepotism is at the heart of political dynasties—and nepotism has always been at the heart of how Trump runs his business. He is head of the Trump Organization and his two sons Don Jr. and Eric are executive vice presidents.

Trump's obsession with creating a new dynasty to rival the fabled Kennedy Camelot is well established. “If there's one thing Trump loves better than himself, it's the idea of a Trump dynasty,” Thomas Gift, head of the Centre on US Politics at University College London, told Newsweek in March.

As the D.C. political site, The Hill, noted earlier this year, "Trump goes into the November election knowing that he can only serve for four years. More acutely than most, as a result, he must think about his succession and legacy. How does “Trumpism,” continue beyond 2028 and Donald’s eventual departure from the national scene?

Last night was the turn of Kimberly Guilfoyle, partner and fianceé to the night's other headline speaker, Don Jr., to stake their claim, joined, briefly and unexpectedly by Kai Trump. If the Trump dynasty is to survive it may well be faced with two different roadmaps.

Where Kai and Lara offered, at least tonally and presentationally, a softer, warmer side, Guilfoyle and Don Jr. gave us the darker, divisive side of the Trump dynasty.

Don Jr. suggested that last week was when, "The world found out there is tough, and then there is Trump tough."

Guilfoyle, who has not yet learned to speak, but has perfected the art of shouting, was in typically understated mode. (James Poniewozik, The New York Times’ chief TV critic, wrote that her speech had threatened to “Make America Deaf Again.”)

Guilfoyle railed against immigrants and corrupt teacher unions and declared that “We will not cower in silence because we love America.” She. Tends. To. Shout,. In. Short. Sentences. Her “speech” ended with cries of “U-S-A, U-S-A.”

This was the side that, we were told, had been exiled in the name of national unity after the shooting of the former president. Neither got the memo.

The latest contestant is Kai. She told the conference that, “I'm speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don't often see. To me, he's just a normal grandpa.”

Well, normal, that is, if your grandpa is a convicted felon, has been declared a rapist by a judge and routinely uses violent rhetoric that incites violence)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889__;!!LsXw!XS2-41gdlYO-CyiyGZxUYla51abPUq_2nxb4kwjw-gBD5xYWLHF36MvXTLPhJ1s8-UKE0_VQCHJYHGIIQSfupRog2Y9mUBKBMd3p$">incites violence. And a grandpa that tried to overturn a totally legitimate election.

So, yeah, normal.

For a Trump.

Kai's short speech was an assured and warm tribute to her grandad, and undoubtedly genuine. Trump, too, looked particularly engaged and even moved, as he leaned forward during her speech and smiled. But her presentation was also part of a calculated political makeover.

Kai's appearance has immediately overshadowed the emergence in the line of succession of Barron, Donald and Melania's Trump 18-year-old son who made his first, and unexpected, appearance at a Trump rally two weeks ago. But Barron has no speaking engagement at the RNC.

It is possible that Melania, famously protective of her son, thought that his appearance at a political rally—in light of Saturday's shooting—was not best advised.

There is nothing covert about this takeover or the emergence of the Trump political dynasty. Don Jr., a few years ago, declared, “This gathering should send a message to them: This isn’t their Republican Party anymore! This is Donald Trump’s Republican Party!”

The gathering in question? The rally that took place ahead of the storming of the Capitol on January 6th 2021.