A viral photo of Marco Rubio’s feet has become the internet’s latest political obsession after it was revealed that President Donald Trump has been buying very specific shoes for members of his cabinet.
The Miami-born Secretary of State appeared to have plenty of space inside his footwear in the image, a fact which quickly spread online once the unusual White House gifts came to light.
The shoes in question are classic Florsheim dress shoes costing about $145. According to reports, Trump has been handing out the pavement thumpers to a whole host of his male allies in government.
The moment Rubio’s pair appeared online, however, people quickly noticed the fit looked somewhat roomy. Which sparked plenty of jokes that he might need to start wearing thicker socks. Or perhaps not try to impress his boss by fibbing about his shoe size.
The story behind the footwear gifting originally dates back to a December meeting that was held inside the Oval Office.
Vice President JD Vance later described the moment in fairly amusing detail. According to VP Vance, Trump glanced across at the shoes worn by the politicians standing in front of him. Trump seemed to be fairly unimpressed by what he saw.
‘Marco, JD, you guys have s***** shoes,’ the president told them. The blunt comment set the tone for what followed next. Instead of simply criticising the footwear and having done with it, POTUS reached for a catalogue and began asking the politicians about their respective shoe sizes.
Vance recalled that Trump went around the group requesting the numbers one by one.
The Vice President said he told this superior that he wore a size 13. Rubio replied that his size was 11.5 while a third politician present said he wore a size 6.
The politician with the tiny trotters was not named during Vance’s light-hearted retelling of the anecdote, in which Trump couldn’t help but comment on the revelation.
Once the answers were given, Trump leaned back in his chair and delivered a line that has since become a central part of the story’s online life. ‘You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size,’ he rather tritely remarked.
The comment instantly added another layer of humour/absurdity to what had already been a fairly odd Oval Office conversation.
As for Rubio’s heel gap? Social media users began wondering whether the Floridian Secretary of State might have slightly overstated his shoe size when asked for it by Trump.
A single comment on X summed up the theory that spread across the platform. ‘They all told the President their shoe sizes were bigger than they are because of the exact same reason a 12-year-old would,’ the user wryly noted.
People familiar with the president’s habit say the footwear gifts follow a routine that Trump seems to enjoy repeating time and time again. He’ll sometimes guess a person’s shoe size while speaking to them face to face. After the guess an aide will place an order for a pair of Florsheim shoes for them.
The White House says that Trump personally pays for the footwear himself.
Around a week later the chosen official receives a brown Florsheim shoebox. The package reportedly carries Trump’s signature. In some cases it even includes a short handwritten note. The result is that several members of the administration now all own, and wear, a pair of exactly the same shoes.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a number of senior figures have received the footwear. Those named include Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House communications director Steven Cheung.
The circle extends beyond the Cabinet as well. Fox News host Sean Hannity reportedly has a pair while former Fox personality Tucker Carlson does too.
Senator Lindsey Graham and White House deputy chief of staff James Blair are also said to own the shiny Oxford shoes.
Some inside the White House appear amused by the situation even if it does create the occasional wardrobe dilemma. One female official joked about the growing trend by saying: ‘All the boys have them…’
Another described the social pressure that comes with receiving a presidential gift. ‘It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them,’ they said.
According to sources, one Cabinet secretary even complained privately about needing to set aside their Louis Vuitton shoes when visiting the White House. Instead they felt obliged to wear the somewhat inferior Florsheims supplied by the president.
The brand at the centre of the story has a long history in the annals of American footwear. Florsheim was founded in Chicago in 1892 by German immigrant Sigmund Florsheim together with his son Milton.
Over time the company became known for traditional dress shoes worn by businessmen and politicians alike. American soldiers even wore Florsheim footwear during both world wars.
President Harry Truman also owned a pair, while Michael Jackson famously moonwalked in Florsheim loafers. Although Jacko’s probably fit him slightly better than Marco Rubio’s.