Carolina Trump was seen in heartwarming footage waving at crowds from the window of her president grandpa’s limousine at Daytona 500.
The five-year-old could be seen in a white dress and ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, peering out at the audience alongside her beaming granddad, Donald Trump.
She waved out excitedly at the roaring crowds before turning around to speak to her grandpa, in the footage taken by her father Eric Trump on Instagram.
The pair were seated in the president’s heavily armored limo, known as The Beast, as it made its way through the cheering crowds ahead of the opening event of the NASCAR series.
The clip, shared by The White House on X/Twitter was captioned: ‘BEHIND THE SCENES with President Trump and Carolina in The Beast at #DAYTONA500’.
Fans flocked to the post to share messages, with some claiming Trump is the ‘coolest Grandpa in the world!,’ while others praised his decision to bring his granddaughter along as a guest, saying: ‘Now that’s a memory she will never forget!’.
Trump was accompanied to the event alongside his son Eric and grandchildren Luke and Carolina, with the latter joining the president on the race course.
Carolina is the only daughter of Trump’s second son Eric and his wife Lara, who also made an appearance alongside her husband at the 67th annual Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Donald Trump told the drivers in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 that they are ‘great Americans’ while being taken around the 2.5mile circuit in the Beast during a stirring appearance at Sunday’s race in Florida.
The President sent NASCAR fans wild on Sunday afternoon as Air Force One flew over the track before his arrival.
The thousands of fans cheered wildly as his plane roared over the racetrack, with Trump making it a second straight weekend of high-profile appearances at sporting events.
Last Sunday, he made history by becoming the first sitting President to attend a Super Bowl when he headed to New Orleans to watch the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
As Trump’s limousine paced the track, he told the drivers: ‘This is your favorite President. I’m a big fan, a really big fan of you people. How you do this, I don’t know.
‘But I just want you to be safe. You are talented people and you are great people and great Americans. Have a good day, have a lot of fun and I will see you later.’
Earlier, as Trump stood for the national anthem, he made a brief appearance on the jumbotron that was met with a massive cheer by the thousands of fans in the stadium, ready for The Great American Race.
And as liberal NASCAR followers complained on social media that Trump was getting too much camera time, the President told Fox that the first few weeks of his second term are a sign of things to come.
‘I think it’s fantastic, it’s great for the country,’ Trump said about the race. ‘Our country is doing well again, we have spirit all over the world. We brought it back and it’s been less than four weeks, so you’ll see what we do in a little period of time. It’s only going to get better. This is very exciting.’
He continued: ‘I understand they’ll be going quite quickly (the drivers). They have a lot of courage, I see it and I’ve been here. They have a lot of guts.’
As well as shaking hands with multiple drivers, Trump also posed for a picture with NASCAR legend Richard Petty.
Trump’s plane touched down shortly after 1pm and he descended the front stairs of Air Force One carrying several red MAGA hats. He was followed by Eric and Lara Trump and two of their children.
On a windy day in Florida, Trump put on one of the MAGA hats, matching his red tie, and stopped for several minutes to speak to greeters, which appeared to include Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
In a presidential message released as he flew to Daytona Beach, Florida, Trump said the opening event of the NASCAR series brings together people from all walks of life in a ‘shared passion for speed, adrenaline and the thrill of the race.’
‘From the roar of the engines on the track to the echo of `The Star-Spangled Banner´ soaring through the stands, the Daytona 500 is a timeless tribute to the speed, strength and unyielding spirit that make America great,’ Trump said. ‘That spirit is what will fuel America´s Golden Age, and if we harness it, the future is truly ours.’
Before his face had even been shown on television, his attendance on Sunday sparked an inevitable liberal meltdown on social media.
One fan took to X to say Fox was showing too much of Trump by broadcasting Air Force One circling over the track.
‘Fox you’ve got liberal fans of NASCAR,’ one said. ‘Can we treat Donald Trump like Taylor Swift and show him sparingly. Really don’t need glory shots of AF1 landing.’
Another said: ‘As a fan of NASCAR I am watching the 500 to watch the race. I am not interested nor do I care about Donald Trump being at the race. I want to watch a race and the drivers. NOT Donald Trump.’
A different complainant posted: ‘It wasn’t bad enough that Donald Trump wasted millions attending half of the Super Bowl last weekend… But now he’s attending the NASCAR Daytona 500. How much is hosing the taxpayers for today?’
While Trump’s Super Bowl attendance was a first for a sitting President, the NASCAR appearance on Sunday isn’t quite as historical – Trump made a visit to the event during his first term as president.
It’s the third time overall in history that a sitting President has made it the biggest day in the racing calendar.
The start of the race had been moved forward an hour due to bad weather, with rain forecast in the area later on Sunday.
It didn’t make too much of a difference early on. The race was stopped after 11 laps due to the rain that began to fall.