Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is trying to stamp out criticism from other presidential candidates about his slick, zip-up boots by saying he’s giving American business a leg up.
Rubio’s ankle boots became the subject of Internet scrutiny after he was photographed wearing them in New Hampshire on Jan. 3, 2016.
Pundits and fashion columnists commented on them ad nauseam. Rubio drew fire from his GOP rivals for being perhaps a bit too chic for the campaign trail. Some speculated they were to make the 5-foot-10 senator appear taller. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul called the boots "cute" and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s Right to Rise super PAC made a commercial mocking them.
While Rubio initially called the focus on his footwear "craziness," he’s worked at thinking on his feet. At a Jan. 18 campaign event in Waverly, Iowa, a voter jokingly asked about the boots. Rubio declared his boots, appropriately outfitted with a Cuban heel, are a patriotic choice.
"They sold out of those boots online," Rubio said. "They’re made in Wisconsin. Florsheim! You know what that means? That means I did more for American business in one week than Barack Obama did in seven years!"
See what Joshua Gillin of PolitiFact Florida found.
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