Donald Trump worrying about his shoes after a bullet hit his ear had supporters singing his praises. “Right after Trump was shot he wanted to find his shoes! What an American Bad***!” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The Daily Beast hypothesized that Trump’s singular shoe being left on stage could go on to signify power, and mentioned how Joe Biden’s footwear choice could have the opposite effect.
Trump famously launched his own sneaker line, but a lot of the discourse surrounding the presidential candidates involved Biden’s choice of more casual shoes. Inside Edition ran a report that focused on the president switching out black dress shoes for black Hoka Transport sneakers. Republican congressman Andy Ogles used that report to make a commercial mocking Biden. The faux ad posted to X promoted Biden’s “Hoka JB46” sneakers. “President Biden’s mysterious new shoes provide ‘maximum stability,'” Ogles tweeted alongside the video which opens with footage of Biden losing his footing on a staircase. “Go from Joe Biden, to Joe Stridin’,” is the slogan used to close out the fake commercial.
The footwear for Biden became a major talking point in September 2023 as it was reported he started wearing sneakers more often to avoid further tumbles. Some Republicans used Biden’s footwear choice as proof that he was unfit to stay in office. Meanwhile a White House rep told Axios the media was “attempting to sensationalize” the fact that Biden wore sneakers and did physical therapy.
