Jesse Watters reveals Trump gave him ‘too big’ shirts after Rubio is mocked over ‘giant shoes’ the president gifted him
Fox News host Jesse Watters revealed that President Donald Trump gave him “a bunch of shirts” to wear on television — but they were “too big.”
This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the billionaire president has a habit of gifting his favorite shoes to administration officials, White House staffers and visitors. One recipient, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has since been mocked for wearing a “giant” pair that appeared too big for his feet.
On Wednesday night, the hosts of The Five discussed the story, and Watters admitted he had once been given a piece of clothing by Trump that he felt obligated to wear.
“This is what the president does,” Watters said. “I used to wear these really English spread collars on the air, and it used to really upset the president, and he’d see me and go, ‘Jesse, your collar is so spread it looks like it’s going backwards behind your head.’”
“So, he bought me a bunch of shirts with a normal collar,” the host added. “Just like one shirt. And then, I felt like pressure to wear it. I mean, it was too big, but now I wear normal collars. But he was right, my English collar was really messed up.”
Earlier, liberal host Jessica Tarlov quoted part of the Journal report that claimed “everybody’s afraid not to wear” Trump’s gifts.
“The best part is that they wear them even when they don’t fit,” Tarlov said. “Like Marco Rubio has a four-inch gap in his shoes.”
Photos have recently gone viral showing the secretary of state wearing black dress shoes with a noticeable gap between the heel and the sole, sparking scorn from commenters, including Derek Guy, a well-known menswear influencer.
“Trump is literally putting them in clown shoes,” wrote one X user, while another chimed in: “We are being led off a cliff by men who can’t even pick out their own shoes.”
A third user pointed out that it may be Rubio’s own fault for providing the president — who once derisively nicknamed him “Little Marco” — with the wrong size.
According to the Journal, Trump has given $145 Florsheim dress shoes to numerous men in his orbit, some of whom don them begrudgingly.
“It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them,” one insider said. “All the boys have them,” another said.
Recipients include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Communications Director Steven Cheung and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson are also said to be among owners of the shoes.
One Cabinet official reportedly griped privately that the presidential gift made him retire his Louis Vuitton shoes, which he preferred.
Both Rubio and Vice President JD Vance were given Florsheims following an Oval Office meeting in December.
Vance recalled to the outlet that, while seated behind the Resolute Desk, Trump looked down at their feet and said “you guys have s***** shoes.” Trump, who has a habit of guessing shoe dimensions, then asked for their preferred sizes. The vice president said 13, while Rubio said he wore a size 11.5.
“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 no stranger to Florsheim, an American shoemaker. In 2016, when he was running for president against Trump, the 5-foot-10-inch-tall Floridian faced criticism for wearing heeled boots to make him seem taller. His team revealed the shoes were made by Florsheim, and he stopped appearing publicly in them.
“It helps to be tall,” Trump, who stand at six-foot-three, said at the time. “I don’t know, they’re big heels. They’re big heels. I mean, those were really up there.”
