Trump Gifts Oversized Shoes to Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Internet Mocks

Marco Rubio’s footwear became an internet talking point after photos showed him appearing to wear shoes that looked noticeably oversized, prompting social-media mockery and linking the shoes to a White House gift routine reportedly started by President Donald Trump.

“President Donald Trump disputed a recent report that he has bought members of his Cabinet dress shoes but then offered detailed thinking on why he has replaced top officials’ footwear, saying he doesn’t want his Cabinet sporting sneakers”

CNN

MEAWW reported that “Marco Rubio’s footwear had social media doing a double-take this week,” CNN noted that “Trump’s shoe habit has led to speculation on the internet about Rubio’s apparently oversized shoes,” and EL PAÍS said Rubio “is seen wearing what appear to be oversized Florsheim boots, because Trump estimated his size by eye.”

CNN

Reporting by The Wall Street Journal, amplified by multiple outlets, describes a White House ritual in which Trump guesses allies’ shoe sizes and orders $145 Florsheim Oxfords as gifts; the shoes arrive in a brown box about a week later.

MEAWW summarized the routine: “The president has taken to guessing people’s shoe size in front of them. He asks an aide to put in an order and, a week later, a brown Florsheim box arrives at the White House.”

El Correo Gallego

EL PAÍS identified the shoes as Oxfords from the American brand Florsheim and noted the association with the brand, and CNN relayed a White House account that “The president has bought him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘like four pairs of shoes … because he’s like, you know, ‘We need our vice president, our secretary of state to look their very best.’”

The shoes have become a symbol of belonging and mild coercion inside Trump’s circle, with multiple sources quoted describing a peer pressure to wear them and describing the gifts as a marker of loyalty.

“Fashion isn’t usually a topic of conversation in Washington, a city as obsessed with politics and power as it is uninterested in clothing as a vehicle for personal expression”

EL PAÍS English

EL PAÍS quoted an anonymous White House source saying, “All the boys have them,” and the article even drolly labeled Trump the “Shoe Salesman-in-Chief.”

MEAWW repeated “All the boys have them,” and CNN carried an anecdote that “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them,” conveying the sense that recipients sometimes feel compelled to be seen in the presidential footwear.

The story also touched on commercial and personal reactions: the Florsheim brand and parent Weyco saw market movement and legal entanglements, some recipients privately grumbled about shelving pricier footwear, and company leadership expressed surprise at the attention.

EL PAÍS reported that Weyco “gained 6.42% on the stock market Wednesday — has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government,” MEAWW noted the shoes’ retail price by saying “Trump has been buying $145 Florsheim dress shoes for allies,” and MEAWW also relayed that “One cabinet secretary has grumbled that he had to shelve his Louis Vuittons, according to people who heard the complaint.”

MEAWW News

EL PAÍS added that Thomas Florsheim “expressed surprise at Trump’s interest but declined to comment further.” CNN’s coverage supplied the anecdotal context about gifting as a White House habit.