Despite Donald Trump’s views about the country being well known, social media users in China have praised Melania for her ‘elegant’ fashion taste and ‘independent’ streak
Melania Trump has become a surprise social media star in China despite her husband’s repeated rants against the country.
Two-time first lady Melania is now an online celebrity in the nation of 1.4billion people, with adoring fans speaking of their admiration for her ‘independence’, her taste in fashion and how she’s raising her teenage son, Barron. Others have also praised her loyalty to President Donald Trump in spite of his long history of indiscretions, including misogynistic comments, allegations of extramarital affairs and being found liable for sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit. It reflects a trend for ‘traditional’ role models on social media, which has been observed on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, along with a number of other platforms.
One fan wrote on the Instagram-like platform Xiaohongshu after Trump’s inauguration last month: “She looks heroic, elegant and resolute, so powerful and majestic, loving it so much.” After the first lady wore a wide-brimmed hat to the ceremony, similar products flooded online shops – and within hours, knitting influencers had posted videos showing people how to make their own. Almost 30,000 people have also liked a November post about an old interview Melania and her husband did on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saying their relationship was “super sweet.”
Though Melania has been praised by some on the platform for what they see as her traditional values, one expert has said her streaks of independence also seem to appeal to Chinese fans, along with her meteoric rise from a small town in Slovenia to the White House. Jingsi Wu, an associate professor of media studies at Hofstra University in New York, told the Associated Press: “Chinese fans like her having both traditional and modern sides of a woman.”
In another hit video using footage from four years ago that has recently gone viral, Melania refuses to hold her husband’s hand as they disembarked from Air Force One. The video has seen more than 5million ‘likes’ on Douyin, and is still attracting new comments.
Donald Trump has been repeatedly critical of China over the years, and has claimed their economic policies are barriers to America’s financial success. In his first term he nicknamed Covid the “Kung Flu”, and more recently he announced a 10% tariff on all Chinese products imported to the US. However, media studies expert Ms Wu said many social media users in China tend to encounter US politics more as a form of entertainment, akin to a soap opera, and suggested that the heightened interest in Melania Trump’s personal life replicates similar attention given to spouses of high-profile political figures within the country.