Trump reportedly gifts cabinet members and White House visitors with Florsheim shoes

Sitting behind the Resolute desk, Donald Trump fixed his gaze on JD Vance’s and Marco Rubio’s feet. “Marco, JD, you guys have s—y shoes,” said the US president, consulting a catalogue and asking their shoe size. Rubio said 11.5 and Vance 13. Trump leaned back in his chair and remarked: “You can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size.”

The story is recounted in a Wall Street Journal newspaper report that tells how officials, advisers and visiting allies are quietly acquiring leather dress shoes courtesy of Trump, who presents them with the enthusiasm of a travelling salesman.

Cabinet meetings, lunches and Oval Office drop-ins can abruptly turn into discussions about footwear.

“Did you get the shoes?” he will ask colleagues, according to several people familiar with the ritual quoted by the Journal. Some have even found themselves trying them on in the Oval Office.

One female White House official observed wryly: “All the boys have them.” Another added: “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.”

Trump’s shoe leather largesse will do little to dispel perceptions of his White House as a boys’ club. Research by the Brookings Institution found that his administration is the least diverse this century. In his first 300 days, the total share of women confirmed by the Senate was just 16%.

The footwear in question comes from Florsheim, a firm founded in Chicago in 1892 whose catalogue of dress shoes has become a presidential obsession. Many pairs retail for about $145 – modest by the standards of a man better known for Brioni suits and long red ties.

Trump, now 79, reportedly began searching last year for something more comfortable to wear through long days in office. Having settled on Florsheims, he began ordering pairs for others as well. According to the White House, he pays for the shoes personally.

Rubio and Vance received their Florsheims after a December meeting in the Oval Office. Cabinet members such as Pete Hegseth and Howard Lutnick have also joined the club along with rightwing broadcasters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson and the Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

One cabinet member is said to have complained privately that the presidential gift forced him to retire his preferred Louis Vuitton shoes – though few appear willing to risk offending the boss by leaving the Florsheims unworn.

The president has even developed a parlour trick: guessing people’s shoe sizes. Once satisfied, he instructs an aide to place an order. A week later, a brown box arrives at the White House, sometimes bearing a signature or a brief note of thanks from Trump, the Journal reports.

The habit has become so routine that some aides say a small stack of shoe boxes now sits in a nearby office, each labelled with a recipient’s name.

Rubio, for one, already has a history with the brand. During the 2016 presidential election campaign, he caused a minor political sideshow when he appeared in New Hampshire wearing glossy black boots that critics speculated might be designer footwear costing nearly $2,000. His team eventually revealed they were in fact Florsheims costing about $135.

Trump, who stands 6ft 3in, could not resist teasing his rival at the time. “It helps to be tall,” he said. “Those were big heels.”