Arabella Kushner: Jared and Ivanka’s Daughter’s $75K Mandarin Lessons Pay Off, China Thrilled With Song, Poem

Donald Trump is accustomed to being the center of attention — and “winning” — not being upstaged. However, an unlikely person among the ranks of the Trump family did exactly that. Arabella Rose Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s daughter, wowed the Chinese people by speaking their language better than the New York billionaire.

Donald Trump is known for annunciating “China” in a “kind of funny” way, as the Daily Wire wrote. The president is not fluent — far from it — in the country’s chief languages: Standard Mandarin and Mandarin Chinese. However, his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, has mastered the language, and she put her multilingual skills on display Wednesday.

When Donald and Melania Trump arrived in China, one of the president’s first orders of business was gushing about his grandchildren. As President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan took the Trumps on a tour of the ancient Forbidden City, Arabella’s proud grandfather had something else in mind.

Over tea, the president handed President Xi a tablet that contained a video of his granddaughter. Arabella addresses Xi and his wife as “Grandpa Xi and Grandma Peng.” She then leads into traditional songs and ancient poems — completely recited in the Mandarin dialect. The arrangement was a gift from Trump’s family to Xi and the People’s Republic of China.

Xi and his wife watched attentively and showed their approval with a round of applause at the end of Arabella’s song and the recital. The Chinese leader gave the young language guru his seal of approval, saying Ivanka and Jared’s daughter scored an “A-plus” with her Mandarin talent.

News of Arabella’s impressive mastery of the country’s language spread quickly throughout China. On behalf of Chinese netizens, the country’s state-owned newspaper echoed President Xi’s sentiments about Trump’s granddaughter’s language skills.

Move over @realDonaldTrump, granddaughter Arabella Kushner charms Chinese President #XiJinpinghttps://t.co/yDBeLFgCOl

— IBTimes ?? (@ibtimes_india) November 9, 2017

During a routine daily press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying called Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s daughter a “little ambassador of Chinese-American friendship.” Hua added that Arabella has gained the hearts of the nation.

“This kind of special arrangement is actually very sweet and warm-hearted. We believe that this has helped to further bring closer the affection and distance between the Chinese and American people.”

During the state dinner, the video of Arabella’s Mandarin skills was shown to attendees at the state dinner. The 6-year-old appeared on screens around the vast room. President Trump offered a toast to Arabella. “Our children so often remind us of our shared humanity and true dignity,” the doting grandfather said.

According to Newsweek, Ivanka and Jared reportedly pay $75,000/year to the Carousel of Languages School in Manhattan for their children’s Mandarin instruction.

@realDonaldTrump shows a video of his granddaughter Arabella Kushner to Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. #TrumpVisit pic.twitter.com/HsvBb5iu4k

— CGTN Radio (@CGTNRadio) November 8, 2017

With Arabella’s fluency in Mandarin Chinese, some say it’s a soothing reprieve in light of her father’s stern language and controversy. Some have remarked that they “much prefer” Trump’s granddaughter to him.

During his campaign, Trump often berated China over its alleged unfair trade practices. He frequently threatened to label the Communist country a currency manipulator if he won the Oval Office.

Multiple sources reported that Trump appears to have struck a warmer tone with China. During his visit with the country’s president, Trump was effusive and praised his counterpart for a trade surplus, saying he doesn’t blame his government for the United States’ plight. Rather, he places fault with “previous [U.S.] administrations.”

Jared and Ivanka share three children together: Arabella Kushner, 4-year-old Joseph Frederick Kushner, and 1-year-old Theodore James Kushner. The children didn’t accompany the Trumps on their 12-day tour.

[Featured Image by Carolyn Kaster/AP Images]