Is there a good way for a male presidential candidate to respond to allegations that he’s been wearing high-heeled boots on the campaign trail because he’s sensitive about his height? I am not a public-relations expert, so I don’t really know — but I’m pretty sure Ron DeSantis awkwardly accusing his critics of having a “foot fetish” and offering to wear a boot on his head if Donald Trump debates him isn’t it.
The presidential candidate’s odd footwear choices have been a topic of online chatter for months. This week, the issue finally came to a head when podcast host Patrick Bet-David confronted DeSantis about rumors that he wears lifts inside his boots to increase his height. The Florida governor claimed that he is 5-foot-11 and wears off-the-rack Lucchese boots.
This denial failed to quash the story, so on Thursday night DeSantis tried to reclaim the boot narrative. When asked about the high-heel theory on Newsmax’s Eric Bolling the Balance, DeSantis deployed this line: “This is no time for foot fetishes. We’ve got serious problems as a country.”
WATCH — DeSantis questions whether Trump can “summon the balls” to show up and debate; laughs off Team Trump’s weird interest in men’s feet.
— DeSantis War Room ???? (@DeSantisWarRoom) November 3, 2023
"This is no time for foot fetishes. We've got serious problems as a country.” pic.twitter.com/KTI4tSHctr
Maybe a smoother politician could have made this quip work, but DeSantis isn’t known for his charm. The venue didn’t help either; he delivered the line on a second-tier conservative news program, and his voice was muffled because he was speaking through AirPods rather than a proper mic.
Next, DeSantis tried to use his so-called bootgate debacle against Trump, though it didn’t come from the 2024 front-runner directly. “I know Donald Trump and a lot of his people have been focusing on things like footwear,” DeSantis said. “I’ll tell you this. If Donald Trump can summon the balls to show up to the debate, I’ll wear a boot on my head.”
DeSantis: This no time for foot fetishes pic.twitter.com/GhQ530Kr4I
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 3, 2023
It’s true that Trump and his associates stoked the DeSantis high-heel rumor online; Trump reportedly toyed with nicknaming DeSantis “Tiny D,” he posted screenshots from a DeSantis boot truther’s TikTok on Truth Social, and his team celebrated when the story went viral this week, calling it the “KISS OF DEATH” for the DeSantis campaign. But the story blew up because of the podcast confrontation and a Politico piece titled “Three Expert Shoemakers Say Ron DeSantis Is Probably Wearing Height Boosters.” So DeSantis’s effort to shift the focus to Trump refusing to show up to the GOP primary debates felt pretty desperate.
Plus DeSantis’s offer to Trump was just plain weird. “I’ll eat my hat” is a common phrase; “I’ll wear a boot on my head” is not. Prior to DeSantis’s remark, the top Google hits for the phrase were about Vermin Supreme, whom the AP describes as “the perennial presidential candidate who wears a boot on his head and promises every American a free pony.”
When you’re losing a GOP presidential primary and are known for allegedly eating pudding with your fingers you don’t want to plant any more weird imagery in people’s heads.
