What does ‘cute winter boots’ mean on TikTok?

Since the Trump inauguration, conversation about “cute winter boots” has been trending on TikTok. What are they really talking about?

Rachael BoltonSocial media editor

Jan 31, 2025 – 5.00am

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There has been a lot of left-of-centre online hand-wringing since the inauguration of Donald Trump a couple of weeks ago.

Following a coronation replete with a full deck of tech nobles and a performance art piece where TikTok melodramatically announced an (unmandated) shutdown and a few hours later praised the 47th president for reinstatement, a whole bunch of people, including Australians, started reporting they had been forcibly made to follow Trump and/or Vice President JD Vance on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Even if they had previously blocked them. Weird.

Rachael Bolton is social media editor for The Australian Financial Review.