Donald Trump has spent years urging Americans to put their money into U.S. products, but a birthday party for his press secretary just handed critics an easy talking point.
Trump is pushing “Buy American,” yet on Thursday White House staff surprised Karoline Leavitt, who turns 28 this weekend, with a small celebration. A video posted on an Instagram story by Trump’s communications advisor Margo Martin shows staffers singing “Happy Birthday” as Leavitt walks into a decorated room filled with balloons, gifts, and a big smile on her face. Laughing, she tells the group, “This is so embarrassing.
But it wasn’t the cake or the streamers that caught attention. Sitting among the presents was a bag instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with luxury fashion. The saffron-colored packaging with dark blue handles could only be from Louis Vuitton, the French designer label owned by LVMH, reported by Mail Online.
The White House hasn’t responded to questions about the gift, but the optics are tough to ignore. Trump has slapped tariffs on goods from Europe, hitting companies like Louis Vuitton along the way, all while insisting Americans need to buy domestic.
Louis Vuitton, run by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, a personal friend of Trump’s, has had to raise U.S. handbag prices thanks to those tariffs. Leavitt, who regularly posts about her Louis Vuitton collection on Instagram, might see the present as a welcome relief from those price hikes.
That said, there’s a chance the gift still fits Trump’s “America First” mantra. Louis Vuitton operates three workshops in the United States where certain leather goods are made. According to the company’s website, though, much of its ready-to-wear clothing and jewelry still comes from France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. So it depends on what exactly was in that bag.
For critics, the symbolism is enough. Trump has built his political identity around economic nationalism, often pointing to tariffs and trade wars as proof that he’s protecting American workers. Seeing his youngest-ever press secretary at just 28, smiling next to a French luxury brand’s shopping bag, plays against that message.
The incident highlights the awkward space where politics and lifestyle branding collide. Trump himself is known for owning high-end properties and enjoying the perks of wealth, even while appealing to working-class voters frustrated with global trade deals. Leavitt’s birthday gift won’t change trade policy, but it’s the kind of detail that can quickly spread on social media and fuel the narrative that there’s a gap between “buy American” slogans and reality inside the White House.
For now, the story is less about Leavitt’s birthday and more about what her gift says about the contradictions of Trump’s trade agenda.