Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photos
There’s positively one thing a bit cultish concerning the president pushing his favourite costume sneakers on all of his male pals and advisers. However the Wall Road Journal’s story on the president’s obsession with Florsheim sneakers, which ran on Monday, initially appeared delicate and unusually apolitical for a Trump story. The leather-based oxfords are American made and surprisingly inexpensive, retailing for round $145. The Journal famous that “presidential presents” have been widespread for the reason that late Eighties, and Trump is paying for the sneakers, which he’s handed out to J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Howard Lutnick, Sean Hannity, and Lindsey Graham, amongst many others.
The Journal reported that Trump is preserving an in depth eye on whether or not Florsheim recipients are literally carrying them:
Trump has been gifting footwear to company heads, lawmakers, White Home advisers and VIPs. “Did you get the sneakers?” he asks at cupboard conferences. Some individuals have laced up within the Oval Workplace. Throughout a lunch assembly in January, Trump out of the blue pivoted to his “unbelievable” new sneakers and gave Tucker Carlson a pair of brown wingtips.
“All of the boys have them,” stated a feminine White Home official. One other joked, “It’s hysterical as a result of all people’s afraid to not put on them.” The shoe-salesman-in-chief is paying consideration.
Nevertheless, the president (and the Journal piece) missed some pertinent information about his beloved oxfords. Particularly, that Florsheim dad or mum firm Weyco Group is suing the Trump administration over tariffs. Enterprise Insider reported on Monday:
Weyco Group, which owns footwear manufacturers together with Bogs and Nunn Bush, sued the federal authorities in December over tariffs, in line with a criticism filed within the US Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce.
The shoe maker filed the lawsuit, betting that the US Supreme Courtroom might strike down the tariffs that Trump has enacted beneath the Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act.
The Journal did attain out to Thomas Florsheim Jr., the CEO of Weyco Group, however he didn’t need to touch upon the president’s shoe preferences, and there’s no point out of the tariffs go well with:
Reached by telephone, Thomas Florsheim Jr. stated he was unaware of the president’s shoe orders. The Weyco Group CEO and fifth-generation Florsheim politely declined to remark additional.
That is odd, for the reason that CEO has stated lots concerning the dangerous results of Trump’s tariffs over the previous yr. In March 2025, Milwaukee Enterprise Journal reported that Weyco was speeding “1 million sneakers to U.S. forward of China tariff hike.” Per week after “Liberation Day” on April 2, the Related Press quoted Florsheim’s warning that doubling the tariffs on leather-based imports from Asia “means a big price enhance that can influence customers.” Final summer time, Florsheim instructed a number of retailers that the corporate had been compelled to increase costs by about 10 % as a result of “[t]he tariff escalations have created disruption and uncertainty within the shoe trade like we’ve got by no means seen earlier than.”
In December, Weyco filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Trump administration, asking the U.S. Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce to “declare the president’s unprecedented energy seize unlawful.” The corporate additionally requested a refund, with curiosity, of the $16 million it paid in tariffs final yr, if the coverage had been struck down. Final month, when the U.S. Supreme Courtroom did simply that, Florsheim co-authored a chunk for The Contrarian titled “Enterprise Leaders Welcome SCOTUS Tariffs Choice.” Two weeks in the past, Florsheim talked about how Trump’s tariffs had harm his enterprise in an on-air interview with Spectrum Information:
“The concept behind the tariffs initially was pro-business, and it looks like someway the pro-business a part of this has gotten misplaced,” stated Weyco Group CEO Tom Florsheim.
Weyco Group, recognized for its Florsheim Shoe model, imports sneakers which are made abroad. Florsheim stated his firm has spent tens of millions on tariffs over the previous yr. He stated at one level they had been having to pay a 145% tariff on sneakers made in China.
“You’re paying extra for the tariff than you had been for the sneakers,” Florsheim famous.
Consequently, the corporate shifted manufacturing to India, solely to face new tariffs there as nicely.
“From a enterprise planning standpoint, it’s been nearly not possible,” Florsheim stated.
Perhaps Trump loves his Florsheims a lot that he’ll simply fake the corporate hasn’t been vocally preventing his beloved tariffs. (“Florsheim’s suing my administration? I didn’t know that. You’re telling me now for the primary time.”) However Rubio, Vance & Co. ought to most likely put together themselves to lace up the solely shoe Trump can actually belief.
Photograph: Getty Photos
