Melania Trump Gains Popularity Among Chinese Women

Chinese admirers praise her elegance, resilience, and independence

By Newser.AI Read our AI policy

Posted Feb 20, 2025 2:15 AM CST

Copied

Melania Trump Gains Popularity Among Chinese Women — U.S. first lady Melania Trump hands out bald eagle dolls to Chinese children holding U.S. and Chinese flags near the panda enclosure at a zoo in Beijing, on Nov. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Melania Trump, the American first lady, is gaining popularity among Chinese social media users. Joyce Yip, a 39-year-old entrepreneur from Guangzhou, explains why she's a fan: "She looks heroic, elegant and resolute, so powerful and majestic." Her increasing popularity is notable given President Trump's hostile political stance toward China. A video of Melania refusing to hold his hand as they exit Air Force One has amassed over 5 million likes on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Additionally, a satire about her marriage featured in the New Yorker received 1 million views on Bilibili, a platform similar to YouTube.

Unauthorized copies of Melania's memoir, informally translated to Mandarin by AI, is being sold for 8 yuan ($1.10) by some on China's "underground" social media. Huang Li, involved in fashion PR, has sold over 30 copies of the memoir. She said: "People want to know more about her." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)