Backlash from Chinese netizens has been swift, with some calling Karoline Leavitt’s fashion choice “hypocritical” amid US President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war.

The irony of a White House press secretary wearing what appears to be a Chinese-made outfit has not been lost on eagle-eyed netizens in China, who took to social media to call out the “hypocrisy” amid US President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war.

On Wednesday (Apr 16), images of White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt went viral on Chinese social media platforms like the Sina Weibo microblogging site and Xiaohongshu.

Leavitt, said to have been speaking at a recent White House briefing, was identified in a red dress with black lace trimmings that reportedly came from UK brand Self-Portrait, designed by Malaysian Chinese fashion designer Han Chong and manufactured in China.

The claim first appeared in a tweet by Zhang Zhisheng, China’s consul-general in Denpasar, Indonesia – and backlash that followed was swift.“Accusing China is business. Buying China is life,” Zhang wrote in a post on X that was reshared more than 700 times, also sharing multiple screenshots and photos.

Zhang also said the black lace trimmings on the dress were recognised by a factory employee “as its product”.

“Hypocrites exposed. It’s actually very funny,” said one user commenting under Zhang’s post.

“The jokes write themselves,” wrote another user.

A Weibo user with the handle paingod wrote that Leavitt’s dress was not “those made in China (dresses) that cost US$20 to US$30”.

“This dress is made by English brand Self-Portrait and costs more than US$500,” paingod wrote. “But the bad news is, this US$500 dress is also made in China.”

“So, Leavitt’s dress isn’t the ‘cheap made in China’, but the ‘expensive made in China’,” said paingod.

Other netizens began scrutinising Leavitt’s previous outfits, pointing out others she had previously worn at press briefings, which also allegedly had Chinese origins.

Leavitt’s fashion choice was also a popular topic of discussion on Xiaohongshu.

One user, by the handle Baicha, shared a picture of herself wearing a similar dress, commenting: “This design is not bad, Chinese Red”, referring to China’s patriotic colour.

Debate over her dress comes as Trump’s increasingly unpredictable “America First” agenda continues to send jitters across the world.

His signature “Make America Great Again” red caps have also attracted scrutiny, with questions over whether they are being mass-manufactured in China.

Heated discussion continued on popular social media site Reddit, with a thread “Does Karoline Leavitt buy her dress from China?” garnering more than 200 comments.

“Of course it’s made somewhere in Asia. Everything is. When was the last time you saw a textile mill in the West,” user BadgerGirl1990 said.