Why Melania Trump has Chinese women admirers despite her husband’s anti-China stance

Joyce Yip, a 39-year-old entrepreneur in Guangzhou, in southern China, has a new celebrity crush: Melania Trump. The two-time United States first lady has become an online celebrity in China, especially among women. That may be surprising given her husband’s hostility towards China, but social media posts reflect admiration for her independence, taste in fashion and how she is raising her teenage son. And, perhaps most importantly, her stoic allegiance to President Donald Trump despite his misogynistic comments, extramarital affair allegations and him being found liable for sexual abuse in a civil suit brought by a New York agony aunt. “She looks heroic, elegant and resolute, so powerful and majestic, loving it so much,” Yip wrote on the Instagram-like platform RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, after Trump’s inauguration in January. After the first lady wore a wide-brimmed hat to the inauguration, similar products appeared on online shops. Within 48 hours of the event, knitting influencers on the social media platform had posted videos showing people how to make their own. By China’s conventional standards, women are expected to be supportive of their husbands and to focus on raising children. But Melania’s streak of independence also appeals to Chinese fans, as does her ascent from small-town Slovenian roots to the top of the world’s social ladder. “Chinese fans like her having both traditional and modern sides of a woman,” said Jingsi Wu, an associate professor of media studies at Hofstra University in New York. Both sides are on display in a four-year-old video showing Melania refusing to hold her husband’s hand as they disembarked from Air Force One. The video has gained more than 5 million “likes” on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and still generates views and comments. People want to know more about her Huang Li, Chinese PR professional and Melania fan Around half a million people liked a November post on RedNote that joked about how unwilling the usually reserved Melania must be to return to the very public life of a first lady. A satire in The New Yorker magazine meant to be critical of her marriage to the president received 1 million views on Bilibili, a YouTube-like platform, and only seemed to boost her popularity. Almost 30,000 people liked a November post about a years-old interview Melania and her husband did on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saying their relationship was “super sweet”. Ge Yahan, 24, Zibo in eastern China is another of Melania’s fans. She calls Melania a mysterious lady who was brave enough to follow her dreams from a small town in Slovenia to the US. Her celebrity crush brings in a bit of pocket money too. She has been selling unauthorised copies of Melania’s new self-titled memoir translated into Mandarin by AI on China’s social media underground for 8 yuan (US$1.10). Donald Trump has been openly critical of China’s economic practices as barriers to America’s financial success. He launched a trade war during his first term by imposing hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, adding more after he returned to office in January. He referred to the Covid-19 coronavirus as the “kung flu” – a racist term. Earlier this year Trump claimed, without evidence, that thousands of Chinese immigrants were flooding into the US to build an “army” and attack America. But Wu, the academic, said people in China often see US politics as akin to a soap opera. Poring over details of leaders’ lives is a novelty to many in China, where top leaders tend to appear only in tightly stage-managed public settings. Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan, who was a well-known singer before marrying Xi Jinping, has kept a higher profile than the wives of previous leaders. But so little is known about the couple’s lifestyle that it remains unclear where they live or whether they have a pet. Melania is low-key, very real, supports her husband ... and stands with him when he needs her Joyce Yip, Chinese entrepreneur and Melania fan Rose Luqiu, an associate professor in the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University, said fans see Donald Trump as a winner, whose success the first lady shares. “The more independent and accomplished she is – but still unwaveringly loyal to (Donald) Trump – the more it reflects his perceived success as a man,” she said. Huang Li, who works in public relations for the fashion industry and sells Melania Trump’s memoir online on the side, says she does not care about politics but likes Trump for his hard work and the courage he showed by yelling “fight, fight, fight” after being shot during the July, 2024 attempt on his life. Huang has sold more than 30 copies of Melania’s memoir, which is not available in China. China’s National Publications Import & Export Shanghai Co. is pre-selling English copies for 290 yuan (US$40), and it is not clear if there are plans for an official translation. “People want to know more about her,” Huang said. Fans also like what they see as sacrifices Melania has made to help her 18-year-old son Barron. Many have joked that she only agreed to move back to the “White House dormitory” to help with his career. Wu said this appeals to Chinese fans. “Chinese pay extra attention to parenting,” she said. Melania’s perseverance amid her husband’s personal and political scandals resonates with fans even more. “Melania is a woman who is low-key, very real, supports her husband in the back and stands with him when he needs her,” said Yip, the entrepreneur. Like many admirers of Melania, Yip said she liked the president’s daughter Ivanka “during her highlight moments” eight years ago. But Yip now views her as a traitor for testifying – after being ordered to by the judge – in her father’s civil fraud trial in New York in 2024. Even though Ivanka Trump revealed little, Yip and many other Chinese believe she betrayed her father. “The rules of this society are that men are allowed to be disloyal, but not women,” said Yip, “Melania is very loyal to her husband.”

Why Melania Trump has Chinese women admirers despite her husband’s anti-China stance

The US first lady’s unwavering support for her husband has captured the imagination of social media users who look past politics and scandal