JD Vance says one Oval Office policy discussion took an unexpected turn when Donald Trump suddenly shifted from serious matters to shoe talk — and then to a joking remark about a fellow politician’s shoe size.
Vance, 41, shared the story in remarks posted online by right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, describing it as one of those private moments with Trump he would “never, ever forget.”
According to Vance, he was in the Oval Office with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and another unnamed politician, going over a weighty policy issue, when Trump abruptly interrupted.
Vance recalled Trump raising his hand and saying, “No, no, no, hold on a second. There’s something much more important. Shoes.” Trump then “peers over the Resolute Desk” and tells them, “Marco, JD, you guys have s—– shoes. We gotta get you better shoes.”
Vance said Trump, 79, produced a shoe catalog and announced that he wanted to gift each of the men four pairs. Trump first asked Rubio for his shoe size — “11 and a half” — and then Vance, who answered “13.”
When Trump turned to the fourth man in the room, Vance said the politician replied “7.” At that point, Trump “leans back in his chair” and joked, “You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size.”
Vance declined to identify the politician with the size 7 shoes, saying he didn’t want to “embarrass” him. He then quipped about his own family, adding, “We won’t ask the second lady for comment on that particular topic,” referring to his wife, Usha Vance.
The Ohio senator noted that this wasn’t exactly out of character for Trump, who has often dipped into anatomy-related humor.
On the campaign trail in October 2024, Trump told a crowd in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, that golf icon Arnold Palmer was “all man,” recounting an anecdote about the late athlete’s physique.
“I say that with all due respect to women, and I love women,” Trump said at the time, just weeks before Election Day. “But this guy, this is a guy [who] was all man. This man was strong, and I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable.’ ”
Chuckling as he spoke, Trump told the audience he “had to say it.”
“We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man,” he continued. “But he was really something special. Arnold was something special.”
