Karoline Leavitt's Made-in-China Dress Sparks Mockery Amid US-China Trade War
Chinese diplomat trolls White House press secretary over fashion choice while tensions rise over tariffs
As tensions rise in the ongoing US-China trade war, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has unexpectedly found herself at the center of a social media storm — not for her words, but her wardrobe.
Leavitt, who recently reinforced the Trump administration’s hardline approach by stating that “China needs to make a deal with us, we don’t have to make a deal with them,” has drawn fire for wearing a dress allegedly made in China during the same press briefing.
Chinese diplomat Zhang Zhisheng, consul general in Denpasar, Indonesia, took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight the irony. Sharing a photo of Leavitt in the red and black-trimmed dress, he cited a Weibo user who claimed the lace was made in a factory in Mabu, China. "Accusing China is business. Buying China is life," Zhang wrote, fueling a wave of memes and criticism online.
The diplomatic jab comes amid escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, with the US imposing a 145% import duty on some Chinese goods and China retaliating with up to 125% tariffs on American products.
The online backlash underscores the complexity of global supply chains — and the contradictions that can emerge when political posturing meets everyday consumer choices.