Kim Kardashian has faced some serious repercussions after showing her support of First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe. The Kardashians star lost a significant amount of Instagram followers — almost 150,000 — following a post on her Instagram Stories highlighting Melania’s outfit during her husband President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Melania’s all-black ensemble, complete with a wide-brimmed hat, had already sparked chatter on social media, with some critics comparing it to the famous McDonald’s character, The Hamburglar. However, Kardashian, known for daring fashion moves and breaking the Internet with her scantily clad photos, appeared to admire Melania’s attire.
The Skims founder didn’t include a caption to her post, but it’s suspected she was primarily shining a light on Melania’s look, given she’s stayed hush on her political views throughout the 2024 presidential election. Regardless of the beauty mogul’s intention, the post angered her millions of followers online, particularly Democrats, since she didn’t endorse anyone in the election and has previously flaunted her close bond with Trump.
Kardashian’s follower counts on multiple platforms quickly plummeted, with influencer marketing agency Socially Powerful reporting that she lost a whopping 89,189 Instagram followers in just one day following her controversial post. The agency also calculated that the number of followers of the reality star’s X, formerly Twitter, dropped by 9,553.
The founder of Socially Powerful, James Hacking, commented on Kardashian’s dramatic decrease in followers in a press release, noting that many A-list stars have chosen to steer clear from showing any public support for Trump in his second term into office, but not Kim K.
“This Trump administration is undoubtably a divisive one with many celebrities in Hollywood distancing themselves from showing support for the new President, however, it is interesting that Kim Kardashian, the original influencer, chose to make this move by posting a picture of the new First Lady, Melania Trump.”
Hacking’s statement continued: “Whilst there was no caption from Kardashian, it is fascinating to see how a single image can see such a monumental drop in followers. Whether or not Kim, or any of the Kardashians for that matter, post about the Trump family or the administration again is yet to be seen, but it may come at the risk of losing many of their followers.”
The Kardashian-Jenner family, comprised of matriarch Kris Jenner and her daughters, Kim, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and her son, Rob Kardashian, have refrained from voicing their political opinions, though Kris’s ex-Caitlyn Jenner has been vocal about being very pro-Trump.
Kim has also appeared to side with the Republican, whom she met during her visit to the White House in 2020 and worked with Trump to reduce the prison sentences of three female inmates in her call for prison reform. Additionally, the TV personality showcased her friendship with Trump’s daughter Ivanka, whom the politician shares with his ex-wife, Ivana, days before the election in November 2024 in a birthday post, which included a photo of the gal pals.
Those who favored Trump’s presidential opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, were livid over Kim’s post. However, it appeared to be one of many subtle signs of who the socialite wanted to take over for former President Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
In typical Kardashian fashion, Kim ignored the social media snafu and continued to promote her Skims shapewear line, which involves a new Valentine’s Day collection. It’s assumed she won’t address her Melania post either, based on her family’s past responses to scandals and negative media attention: Keep quiet and let the attention die down, or hash things out on their uber-popular Hulu series The Kardashians.
Either way, we’re interested to see how this plays out.
