A man has been arrested on suspicion of trespassing after allegedly scaling the walls of Florida home, with the intention of proposing to the President's teenage granddaughter.
Anthony Thomas Reyes claimed his aim was to "spread the gospel" after being intercepted by the Secret Service shortly after midnight on Tuesday (around 5am Tuesday UK time). The 23-year-old is believed to have informed officers that he had scaled the imposing wall surrounding Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in search of Mr Trump's granddaughter, Kai.
However, it is understood that Kai, who celebrated her 18th birthday just last month, is currently holidaying in the Bahamas. Reyes is now being held at County Jail with a bail set at $50,000 (£37,000).
Mr Trump was also absent from Mar-a-Lago, a sprawling resort boasting 126 rooms and spanning 62,500 sq ft on a barrier island in Palm Beach. The 78-year-old US President was in Washington, DC, where his administration is presently working on legislation that will result in tax cuts for the wealthy and spending cuts on social programs.
Reyes stated that he was also seeking Mr Trump to discuss "the gospel.", the . However, it is thought that he was also searching for Kai, who was a regular presence on her grandfather's campaign trail and has garnered a devoted fan base.
Kai, the daughter of Donald Trump Jr, has been giving her followers a glimpse into her life with her grandfather through social media snippets during the campaign trail. The teenager, currently a pupil at a school in North Palm Beach, is rumoured to be starting her studies at the University of Miami this coming autumn and is currently on a summer holiday with her mother Vanessa as preparation for university life.
This week, Kai took to social media to share clips of herself enjoying virgin strawberry daiquiris by the pool, basking in the summer sunshine alongside her mum, who parted ways with Mr. Trump Jr back in 2018 following a 13-year marriage. Mr Trump Jr and Vanessa, with her roots in modelling, exchanged vows at Mar-a-Lago where they would go on to raise their family of five children, including Kai.
In another recent video shared on her social media accounts, Kai, who is an avid golfer, can be heard saying: "I'm gonna hit some balls because why not? Worked on my swing a little. It's beautiful. I'm not sure if you guys have ever been to Albany before... I love it."
Her grandfather, a property titan with 18 golf courses worldwide, including 11 in the US, shares a similar zeal for golf, spending much of his presidency hitting the greens at his clubs in Florida. The President himself, the owner of Mar-a-Lago since 1985, popped up in one of Kai's vlogs, where he talked about her potential career in professional golf.
He remarked: "I just wanna say that I play a lot of golf with Kai and she's a fantastic golfer."