As tensions in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war grew, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unexpectedly found herself at the center of a social media storm – not for her words, but for her closet.
Leavitt recently strengthened the Trump administration’s hard-line approach by pointing out that “China needs to reach an agreement with us, we don’t have to reach an agreement with them.”
Zhang Zhisheng, Consul General of Indonesia’s Danpasar City, Chinese diplomat, went to X (formerly known as Twitter) to highlight the irony. He shared Leavitt’s photos in red and black dresses, citing a Weibo user who claimed the lace was made at a factory in Mabu, China. Zhang wrote: “Blame China is business. Purchasing China is life.”
The diplomatic thrust emerged under the rising Tit-Tat tariffs, with the United States imposing a 145% import tax on certain Chinese goods and China’s tariffs on U.S. products as high as 125%.
The online rebound highlights the complexity of global supply chains and the conflicts that may arise when political stances fit everyday consumer choices.
