Trump Has Apparently Developed a Fixation on Florsheim Shoes - Esquire

I’ll be honest here and admit that I didn’t expect to learn that Donald Trump has created a culture of fear in the White House that’s predicated on footwear choices. One based on blind loyalty? Or generalized sniveling? Sure! But one based on wearing the right shoes? Yeah, it kind of caught me off guard.

And yet, here we are. According to reports, the president has become fixated on Florsheim shoes since the end of last year, when he went on the hunt for something more comfortable and landed on a cap-toe oxford from the American brand. Florsheim politely declined to comment for this story, so I did a little visual sleuthing to try to identify it. And though I can’t be certain, I’d bet it’s the Lexington, which costs $145 and, in keeping with Trump’s desired feature set, boasts a “fully cushioned footbed for all-day comfort.”

If the story ended there, well ... it wouldn’t be much of a story. Florsheim is a long-standing American brand with classic styles befitting an American politician (even though the Lexington seems to be imported). But it doesn’t end there, because of course it doesn’t. We haven’t even gotten to the culture of fear yet!

See, allegedly, the president was so smitten with his new shoes that he started giving out pairs of Florsheims all over the place. The Wall Street Journal reports that he buys them himself and has bequeathed them to a veritable rogues’ gallery of Trump-administration members and allies:

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have some. So do Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung, deputy chief of staff James Blair and speechwriter Ross Worthington. Fox News personality Sean Hannity and Sen. Lindsey Graham each have a pair.

Here’s the best bit, again from the * Journal*:

“All the boys have them,” said a female White House official. Another joked, “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.”

We first got wind of the burgeoning obsession from Vance himself back in December, when he relayed an anecdote about Trump stopping a meeting in which he, Vance, and Rubio were discussing “something really, really important.” According to Vance, Trump stopped that conversation to pivot to shoes. “He peers over the Resolute Desk and says, ‘Marco, JD, you guys have shitty shoes.’ ”

Next thing you know, they’re all going through a shoe catalog and Trump is collecting sizes. Vance self-reported as a size 13; Rubio as an 11.5. A third, unnamed politician in the room was a size 7. Trump responded to that info, Vance says, with the quip: “You know, you can tell a lot about a man from his shoe size.” It’s a dick joke!* Cue the laughter.*

Here’s the thing: I don’t think Rubio was telling the truth about his size. Here he is on January 7 wearing shoes that look a whole lot like Florsheim cap-toe oxfords.

Take a closer look, and you’ll see the issue:

Yeah, maybe honesty is the best policy. Though it might not matter at this point. Trump has allegedly taken to guessing peoples’ shoe sizes in front of them. If these are the sorts of folks who feel compelled by fear to wear their new shoes in front of the president, I doubt there are a lot of corrections being offered before said shoes are ordered.

There is one upside to all of this, though, and that’s the fact that these are decent-looking shoes. They might not stack up in terms of craftsmanship or pedigree against an American-made option from Alden or even Allen Edmonds, but the classic vibe is very much intact. They are, without a doubt, a better choice than the hideous hybrid shoes—that is, a dress-shoe upper with a sneaker sole—that so many American politicians love these days. Seeing Pete Hegseth wearing his too-tight tailoring and stars-and-stripes pocket squares is off-putting enough. Now at least his shoes look like they’re suited to his office.

So for that, Donald, I guess I have to say thanks. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, after all.