Marco Rubio was photographed wearing a pair of $145 Florsheim shoes gifted to him by President Donald Trump (Image: Getty Images)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was photographed wearing a pair of $145 Florsheim shoes gifted to him by President Donald Trump, which looked too large for his feet.
Media outlets have pointed out that Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and all male Cabinet members wore the same style of footwear. MAGA allies Sean Hannity, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Tucker Carlson, and White House deputy Chief of Staff James Blai have also received a pair of the shoes, the Express understands.
It was reported that the president enjoys opening each Cabinet meeting by asking attendees whether they are enjoying the “incredible” item. “Did you get the shoes?” he would ask.
“All the boys have them,” a female White House official said. “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them,” another joked.
The president enjoys including a personal note in each pair he dispatches, according to reports.
Read more: Military expert outlines Putin and China’s ‘real’ WW3 position
Read more: Trump health fears resurface after ‘radioactive’ facial bruise spotted
According to a report published in the Times, Vance recalled one exchange between himself, Trump, Rubio, and an unnamed politician.
“The president kind of holds up his hand and says, ‘No, no, no, hold on a second. There’s something much more important. Shoes,” Vance recalled. “He peers over the Resolute Desk and he says, ‘Marco, JD, you guys have s—– shoes. We gotta get you better shoes.'”
“He goes out and grabs a catalog. There happens to be another politician in the room … and he actually runs us through this incredible shoe catalog,” Vance continued. “The president is gifting us with four pairs of shoes.
“He says, ‘Marco, what’s your shoe size?’ And Marco’s apparently an 11 and a half,” Vance adds.
All male Cabinet members wore the same style of footwear (Image: AP)
“He says, ‘JD, what’s your shoe size?’ My shoe size is 13.
“And he asks this politician, who I won’t embarrass, what his shoe size is, and he says, ‘seven’,” concludes Vance. “The president, he kind of leans back in his chair and says, ‘You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size.'”
The president reportedly gauges people’s shoe sizes in their presence, before having an aide place an order. The White House insists that Trump personally pays for the footwear, and, a week later, sends out a brown Florsheim shoe box bearing his signature and occasionally a personal message.
The president enjoys including a personal note in each pair he dispatches (Image: AP)
Several sources informed the WSJ they overheard a cabinet secretary complaining about feeling obliged to put aside their Louis Vuitton shoes to wear Florsheims when visiting the White House, as recipients of a pair from the president feel duty-bound to wear them in his company.
The American footwear firm, affordably priced compared to other dress shoe makers, was founded in 1892 in Chicago by German immigrant Sigmund Florsheim and his son, Milton.
American servicemen wore the brand’s shoes during both World War I and World War II.
Florsheim was founded in 1892 in Chicago (Image: Getty Images)
President Harry Truman donned the shoes, and Michael Jackson immortalised his loafers with his iconic moonwalk. Reports suggest that the president developed a fondness for the Florsheim brand late last year whilst searching for footwear that would offer more comfort after a long day at work.
It remains unclear why Trump was in search of a different shoe brand, but the president has dismissed compression socks that could ease his chronic venous insufficiency, a medical condition resulting in swelling in the calves and ankles.
In January, Trump informed the Journal that he had briefly attempted to wear the medical compression stockings but stopped using them because he “didn’t like them.”