For the latest press briefing, Karoline Leavitt sticks to a top made in Zhongguo

Patriot and media-world darling Karoline Leavitt has chosen an old brand from the U.S.—Ann Taylor—to wear to her latest White House press briefing, during which she announced sternly that “Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm. So this is another reason why Americans should buy American, it’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing here.” She said that unflinchingly in a fuschia—“orchid glow”—knit top from the 71-year-old clothier that is made in China.

On the Ann Taylor website, the “short-sleeve cardigan”, tagged as a “best seller”, is priced at US$119 (S$235), but is now marked down to US$83.30. Information on the product page omitted the jacket’s place of manufacture. However, it does say that the garment is “imported”. According to information currently available online, Ann Taylor “is primarily not produced in America, despite being an American retailer”. The Cornell University’s digital repository Cornell eCommons revealed that Ann Taylor knitwear “is manufactured at numerous sites around the world, primarily in Asia, with the majority of production occurring in China”.

It appears that Ms Leavitt is in no hurry to address the discrepancy between her “buy American” messaging and the Chinese origin of her clothing. It is amusing that the optics totally escaped her. Here was a member of the Trump administration encouraging the consumption of American-made products while wearing foreign-produced apparel. Together with her was treasury secretary Scot Bessent speaking about the current state of the US-China trade relations. Her clothing effectively brings into focus the challenges of the “buy American” emphasis and the tension between the desire to support domestic brands and the realities of a globalised economy where American brands tenaciously rely on international manufacturing. We can’t help but cheer her on: Keep it up, Karoline Leavitt!

Screen shot: forbes/YouTube