Ivanka Trump’s 15-year-old daughter, Arabella Kushner, is drawing renewed attention after appearing alongside members of the Trump family during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent White House visit.
Arabella, the eldest child of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, was given a prominent seat during her grandfather President Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi. Pasted text
Her appearance stood out because she has generally remained outside the political spotlight despite growing up in one of America’s most famous families.
A source close to the Trump family said Ivanka is heavily involved in Arabella’s life and only allows her to attend public events when she genuinely wants to participate.
The source said Arabella has recently started asking to attend more major events, and Ivanka has increasingly agreed. Pasted text
Arabella was also present at a state dinner held for Xi, where other guests reportedly included prominent business and technology figures.
The teenager’s resemblance to her mother drew attention during the event, with the source describing her as something of a “mini-me” of Ivanka.
“Ivanka is really protective of her and sees her as sort of a mini-me,” the source said.
The source added that Arabella “wants to be like her mom.” Pasted text
Arabella already shares several interests with Ivanka.
She is reportedly an equestrian and also practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Her presence during Xi’s visit was particularly notable because of her longstanding connection to Chinese language and culture.
Arabella began learning Mandarin when she was extremely young with help from a Chinese-born nanny.
By the time she was three years old, she was receiving formal language lessons.
One of her former tutors, Jing Maxine Yongtai, said Arabella was already speaking Mandarin fluently when she began attending classes.
Jing remembered her as energetic, talkative and unusually confident.
“She never got frustrated,” Jing said.
The tutor also recalled Arabella sometimes taking on a leadership role in class.
“Sometimes she would play the role of teacher assistant in my class,” Jing said. “She was very sassy. A tough New York City kid.” Pasted text
Arabella’s connection with Xi dates back years.
In 2017, when she was five, she made headlines after singing in Mandarin during Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago.
Later that year, she appeared in another video that was shown during Trump’s trip to Beijing.
In the video, Arabella addressed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan as “Grandpa Xi” and “Grandma Peng.”
Xi reportedly praised the performance, saying it deserved an “A+.” Pasted text
The video became widely viewed on Chinese social media.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson at the time referred to Arabella as a “small messenger of Sino-US friendship.” Pasted text
Trump has also publicly praised his granddaughter’s ability to speak Mandarin, per the Daily Mail.
During a 2017 New York Times interview, Trump reportedly called Arabella into the Oval Office and encouraged her to demonstrate her Chinese-language skills.
“She’s great. She speaks fluent Chinese. She’s amazing,” Trump said at the time.
He also praised her intelligence and referred to her as having “good, smart genes.” Pasted text
Arabella is now based in Florida and has not remained in regular contact with her former tutor.
Still, Jing said she remembers the teenager as someone who showed genuine interest in Chinese culture from an early age.
“The Chinese people, they really adore her. They really admire her,” Jing said.
Whether Arabella has any future political ambitions remains unknown.
Her former tutor nevertheless suggested that her language skills and cultural familiarity could someday give her an unusual role in U.S.-China relations.
“She could be the bridge between the two countries,” Jing said. Pasted text
