By Alex Leary
March 9, 2026 5:30 am ET
Black shoes and blue suits were the order of the day in Davos for President Trump and administration leaders. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—The hottest and most exclusive MAGA status symbol is a pair of leather oxfords.
Prefer a wingtip, loafer or monk strap? Black or brown?
President Trump’s got you.
Trump has been gifting footwear to agency heads, lawmakers, White House advisers and VIPs. “Did you get the shoes?” he asks at cabinet meetings. Some people have laced up in the Oval Office. During a lunch meeting in January, Trump suddenly pivoted to his “incredible” new shoes and gave Tucker Carlson a pair of brown wingtips.
“All the boys have them,” said a female White House official. Another joked, “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.” The shoe-salesman-in-chief is paying attention.
Trump has fallen in love with Florsheim, the American brand that’s been pairing comfort and style for more than a century. They’re also affordable: many cost $145.
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. Trump sometimes signs the box or attaches a note of gratitude, according to people familiar with the ritual.
The 79-year-old billionaire, known for expensive Brioni suits, long red ties and a penchant for aesthetics, late last year began searching for something that would feel better after a day on the job and settled on Florsheim. Trump liked them so much he started dispensing them. He pays for the shoes, the White House said.
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.
Trump favors classic black dress shoes, and has advised against pairing brown shoes with dark suits. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Recipients have taken to wearing their Florsheims around Trump, some apparently begrudgingly. One cabinet secretary has grumbled that he had to shelve his Louis Vuittons, according to people who heard the complaint.
Officially the White House wouldn’t confirm Trump’s choice of Florsheim. One recipient said Trump had a stack of them in an office. A box read “Scott”—for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Reached by phone, Thomas Florsheim Jr. said he was unaware of the president’s shoe orders. The Weyco Group CEO and fifth-generation Florsheim politely declined to comment further.
Florsheim was founded in 1892 in Chicago by Sigmund Florsheim, a German immigrant and cobbler, and his son Milton. A century before Trump began putting his name on everything, Florsheim stitched its moniker on shoes and opened branded stores across the country. The company outfitted American soldiers in both world wars. Later, it rode the shopping mall boom. President Harry Truman wore them. Michael Jackson moonwalked in Florsheim loafers.
Florsheim has been a standard of American fashion for over a century. Ads as early as 1902 noted the shoes' style and comfort. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection/Library of Congress, Jay Paull/Getty Images
Like Trump’s own business fortunes, Florsheim has experienced ups and downs, including filing for bankruptcy in 2002, part of a move that returned the brand to the Florsheim family. Today it is part of Glendale, Wisc.-based Weyco, which also distributes Nunn Bush, Stacy Adams and Bogs.
Rubio and Vance received their Florsheims after a December meeting in the Oval Office.
Deep in conversation, Trump peered over the Resolute Desk at their feet, Vance recalled during an event later that day celebrating Kennedy Center honoree Sylvester Stallone. “Marco, JD, you guys have s—y shoes,” Trump declared before retrieving a catalog. A third politician was in the room—Vance didn’t name him—and Trump asked each person for their size. Rubio said 11.5, Vance 13. The third man said 7, according to Vance.
“The president kind of leans back in his chair and says, ‘You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size,’ ” Vance said.
Rubio was already familiar with the brand. When he was running for president against Trump in 2016, he was spotted in New Hampshire wearing slick, heeled black boots. Amid rampant “bootgate” media speculation, including that they could be $1,990 Tom Fords, Rubio’s team revealed the boots were $135 Florsheims. The 5-foot-10 Floridian stopped wearing them, but not before getting a ribbing from his presidential rivals.
Marco Rubio wears his Florsheim boots during a 2016 campaign stop in New Hampshire. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
“It helps to be tall,” Trump, 6-foot-3, said at the time. “I don’t know, they’re big heels. They’re big heels. I mean, those were really up there.”
Presidential presents became common in the 1880s. Christmas turkeys were the gift of choice for White House staff for decades. Franklin D. Roosevelt handed out keychains of his Scottish terrier, Fala. Lyndon Johnson offered visitors electric toothbrushes with the presidential seal. George W. Bush liked cuff links.
Trump passes out MAGA hats, often from a stash he keeps on hand in a makeshift gift shop outside the Oval Office. He likes presidential coins and has been known to distribute photographs of him and staff or the black Sharpies he uses to sign official documents. Shoes take the largess to another level.
But gifting the right pair is more than having the correct size, said menswear writer Derek Guy. “If you have a suit that doesn’t fit well, you’ll just look bad. But if you have a shoe that doesn’t fit well, you can develop physical issues.”
Guy suggested Trump call up Alden Shoe Co., a higher-end brand founded in Massachusetts, and have a salesman stop by the White House for proper fittings. “I don’t think it’s extravagant—for a billionaire.”
Source (Archive)
March 9, 2026 5:30 am ET
Black shoes and blue suits were the order of the day in Davos for President Trump and administration leaders. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—The hottest and most exclusive MAGA status symbol is a pair of leather oxfords.
Prefer a wingtip, loafer or monk strap? Black or brown?
President Trump’s got you.
Trump has been gifting footwear to agency heads, lawmakers, White House advisers and VIPs. “Did you get the shoes?” he asks at cabinet meetings. Some people have laced up in the Oval Office. During a lunch meeting in January, Trump suddenly pivoted to his “incredible” new shoes and gave Tucker Carlson a pair of brown wingtips.
“All the boys have them,” said a female White House official. Another joked, “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.” The shoe-salesman-in-chief is paying attention.
Trump has fallen in love with Florsheim, the American brand that’s been pairing comfort and style for more than a century. They’re also affordable: many cost $145.
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. Trump sometimes signs the box or attaches a note of gratitude, according to people familiar with the ritual.
The 79-year-old billionaire, known for expensive Brioni suits, long red ties and a penchant for aesthetics, late last year began searching for something that would feel better after a day on the job and settled on Florsheim. Trump liked them so much he started dispensing them. He pays for the shoes, the White House said.
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.
Trump favors classic black dress shoes, and has advised against pairing brown shoes with dark suits. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Recipients have taken to wearing their Florsheims around Trump, some apparently begrudgingly. One cabinet secretary has grumbled that he had to shelve his Louis Vuittons, according to people who heard the complaint.
Officially the White House wouldn’t confirm Trump’s choice of Florsheim. One recipient said Trump had a stack of them in an office. A box read “Scott”—for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Reached by phone, Thomas Florsheim Jr. said he was unaware of the president’s shoe orders. The Weyco Group CEO and fifth-generation Florsheim politely declined to comment further.
Florsheim was founded in 1892 in Chicago by Sigmund Florsheim, a German immigrant and cobbler, and his son Milton. A century before Trump began putting his name on everything, Florsheim stitched its moniker on shoes and opened branded stores across the country. The company outfitted American soldiers in both world wars. Later, it rode the shopping mall boom. President Harry Truman wore them. Michael Jackson moonwalked in Florsheim loafers.
Florsheim has been a standard of American fashion for over a century. Ads as early as 1902 noted the shoes' style and comfort. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection/Library of Congress, Jay Paull/Getty Images
Like Trump’s own business fortunes, Florsheim has experienced ups and downs, including filing for bankruptcy in 2002, part of a move that returned the brand to the Florsheim family. Today it is part of Glendale, Wisc.-based Weyco, which also distributes Nunn Bush, Stacy Adams and Bogs.
Rubio and Vance received their Florsheims after a December meeting in the Oval Office.
Deep in conversation, Trump peered over the Resolute Desk at their feet, Vance recalled during an event later that day celebrating Kennedy Center honoree Sylvester Stallone. “Marco, JD, you guys have s—y shoes,” Trump declared before retrieving a catalog. A third politician was in the room—Vance didn’t name him—and Trump asked each person for their size. Rubio said 11.5, Vance 13. The third man said 7, according to Vance.
“The president kind of leans back in his chair and says, ‘You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size,’ ” Vance said.
Rubio was already familiar with the brand. When he was running for president against Trump in 2016, he was spotted in New Hampshire wearing slick, heeled black boots. Amid rampant “bootgate” media speculation, including that they could be $1,990 Tom Fords, Rubio’s team revealed the boots were $135 Florsheims. The 5-foot-10 Floridian stopped wearing them, but not before getting a ribbing from his presidential rivals.
Marco Rubio wears his Florsheim boots during a 2016 campaign stop in New Hampshire. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
“It helps to be tall,” Trump, 6-foot-3, said at the time. “I don’t know, they’re big heels. They’re big heels. I mean, those were really up there.”
Presidential presents became common in the 1880s. Christmas turkeys were the gift of choice for White House staff for decades. Franklin D. Roosevelt handed out keychains of his Scottish terrier, Fala. Lyndon Johnson offered visitors electric toothbrushes with the presidential seal. George W. Bush liked cuff links.
Trump passes out MAGA hats, often from a stash he keeps on hand in a makeshift gift shop outside the Oval Office. He likes presidential coins and has been known to distribute photographs of him and staff or the black Sharpies he uses to sign official documents. Shoes take the largess to another level.
But gifting the right pair is more than having the correct size, said menswear writer Derek Guy. “If you have a suit that doesn’t fit well, you’ll just look bad. But if you have a shoe that doesn’t fit well, you can develop physical issues.”
Guy suggested Trump call up Alden Shoe Co., a higher-end brand founded in Massachusetts, and have a salesman stop by the White House for proper fittings. “I don’t think it’s extravagant—for a billionaire.”
Source (Archive)
