Red dress, red-faced: Did Karoline Leavitt wear Made-in-China dress while slamming China? Internet spots the tag

Karoline Leavitt’s Dress Becomes Latest Symbol in US-China Tariff Drama

A sartorial choice by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has become the latest flashpoint in the simmering US-China trade conflict.

Leavitt, a key face of the Trump administration’s ongoing push for aggressive tariffs against Beijing, found herself in the spotlight for an entirely different reason this week: the label inside her dress.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, sharp-eyed social media users noted that Leavitt’s red dress — worn while defending Trump’s latest 245% tariffs on Chinese goods — appeared to be from a brand that manufactures its apparel in China. The irony did not go unnoticed.

This was the same press briefing where Leavitt said that “China needs to make a deal with us, we don’t have to make a deal with them.”

Chinese diplomat Zhang Zhisheng, consul general in Denpasar, Indonesia, took to X (formerly Twitter) to grab the opportunity to mock Leavitt and the US. He shared 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.

Accusing China is business.Buying China is life.The beautiful lace on the dress was recognized by an employee of a Chinese company as its product. pic.twitter.com/SfPyM4M02Z

Zhang Zhisheng (@salahzhang) April 14, 2025

The post soon went viral, with several users mocking Leavitt for wearing a Made-in-China dress while slamming Beijing. Meanwhile, a section of users claimed it was a case of counterfeit goods.

"Breaking: This should be the question to Karoline Leavitt today by White House correspondents. So much fun and irony," a user wrote.

Breaking: This should be the question to Karoline Leavitt today by White House correspondents. So much fun and irony. Chen Weihua (@chenweihua) April 14, 2025

Meanwhile, another user claimed that dress was an original piece, and accused China of counterfeiting.

Everything China makes is stolen from other people. Her dress is an original.

Martin Lukas (@MartinLukasMD) April 14, 2025

The incident has reignited debates about whether Washington’s rhetoric on decoupling from China is matched by practical policy — or personal choices. As the Trump administration intensifies its trade offensive, the episode serves as a reminder of the complex, often contradictory nature of global commerce — and the PR minefield that lies in its wake.