In November, Kim Kardashian sparked fierce backlash when she shared a heartfelt message to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump just days before the presidential election.
Kim and Ivanka have been close friends for several years, and were first pictured together at the 2014 Met Gala.
In honor of Ivanka’s birthday, Kim shared a photo of herself cuddled up to her with her 358 million followers. She captioned the image: “No one sweeter than you @ivankatrump” alongside three white heart emojis.
The star followed up with more photos of herself and Ivanka over the years, and the whole thing rubbed many people up the wrong way.
One popular tweet that summed up the discourse read: “kim k posting this a week before the biggest election in history is a deliberate choice and i’m not saying i expected anything more from her or her family but wow!!”
Instagram @kimkardashian / Via Instagram: @kimkardashian
The fact that Kim didn’t endorse anybody in the 2024 election also didn’t go unnoticed, nor did her close relationship with Trump during his previous presidency.
X @realDonaldTrump / Via x.com
For reference, Kim famously met with him in 2018 as part of her work advocating for criminal justice reform. At the time, she discussed Alice Marie Johnson’s case with the then-president, and one week after meeting with Kim, Trump granted Johnson clemency.
Kim also visited the White House in 2020, when Trump agreed to reduce the sentences of three female prisoners who had been jailed for drug-related and white-collar crimes.
The star has not publicly acknowledged the public’s scathing reaction to her birthday tribute to Ivanka, but her social media activity on Monday suggests that she was unfazed by the scrutiny.
Taking to her Instagram story during the ceremony, Kim shared a photo of Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, arriving at the event.
Kim did not add any kind of caption to the photo, which shows Melania looking solemn while wearing a wide-brimmed hat that conceals her eyes.
The reality star didn’t post anything else from or about the inauguration, but platforming Melania was enough to evoke a passionate reaction from social media users.
Instagram @kimkardashian / Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images / Via Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/kimkardashian/
Many implied that Kim had been struggling to conceal her support for the Trumps, with one viral tweet sharing a screenshot of her post and adding: “She’s been waiting to let that out!”
X @LouisPisano / Instagram @kimkardashian / Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images / Via x.com
“The fit isn’t even gag worthy she just couldn’t hold this in any longer,” another popular tweet claims. Somebody else alleged: “Kim Kardashian finally admitted who she voted for.”
While another user wrote: “Kim Kardashian posting Melania Trump confirms my longtime suspicions of her and that family…..”
“Happy that I’ve never bought skims,” one more added, referencing Kim’s clothing brand.
Somebody else tweeted: “idk why i still followed kim kardashian honestly but her posting a pic of melania at the inauguration on her story was like immediate unfollow bye.”
One more added: “mind you a mother of 4 black children .. she’s gross. that entire family is gross.”
Kim has not publicly acknowledged the reaction to her story, and BuzzFeed has contacted her rep for comment.
What do you make of Kim’s Instagram post? Let me know below.
