If political history has taught us anything, it’s that the fastest way to break a headline isn’t record-breaking global heat or ongoing humanitarian crises — it’s a president wearing the wrong outfit.
Last Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office to sign a joint U.S.-Ukraine deal over mineral rights.
According to BBC News, “Zelensky faced an extraordinary dressing down in front of the world’s media” — in more ways than one.
Of all the questions that could have been posed to Zelenskyy in a meeting as crucial as this one, fashion politics crept its way inside.
“Why don’t you wear a suit?” a voice uttered, followed by a few scattered laughs. “You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Just want to see if — do you own a suit?”
The voice was Brian Glenn, a correspondent for right-wing cable channel Real America’s Voice.
Zelenskyy wore a black sweater with buttons featuring the Ukrainian trident — a symbol of the country’s “aspirations for sovereignty and unity” — paired with black slacks and black boots.
Trump greeted Zelenskyy upon his arrival with remarks on his outfit, echoing with sarcasm, “You’re all dressed up today.”
While Glenn characterized Zelenskyy’s choice not to wear a suit as a sign of disrespect toward the American people, Zelenskyy himself has famously rejected this custom and chosen to wear standard-issue field uniforms in solidarity with Ukraine’s armed forces since 2022.
“I will wear [a] costume after this war will finish…Maybe something like yours, maybe something better,” Zelenskyy clapped back to Glenn.
Many viewers took to social media to voice their outrage over his interaction. Under a Youtube video shared by Forbes Breaking News, one commenter wrote, “they dont care about the suit…they want to make him feel inferior…those are scare tactics.”
This comment amassed more than 8,700 likes.
Another wrote, “Wearing a suit is not going to make one a gentleman.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time a president’s wardrobe choice has been treated like a national crisis.
Just Google “Obama Tan Suit Gate.”
On Aug. 28, 2014, President Barack Obama wore a tan suit at a news conference discussing Syria and Russia. Unlike Zelenskyy, Obama was not trying to convey a message with his choice of attire. In fact, he thought the tan suit was a typical choice and would ultimately go unnoticed.
Conservative commentators could not have disagreed more. According to a Vanity Fair article published last year, many thought the tan suit “was more appropriate for drinking sundowners and schmoozing in the Hamptons than giving a White House press conference about efforts to defeat the terrorist group ISIS.”
Vanessa Friedman, the chief fashion critic for the New York Times, went as far as saying that the tan suit was a “wishy-washy color” for a “wishy-washy military policy.”
How is that for fashion as a visual language?
Last August, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his tan suit, President Obama posted a side-by-side picture on his personal Instagram page, featuring himself in 2014 and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris wearing a tan suit. His caption: “Ten years later, and it’s still a good look!”
While I agree that presidents should maintain a high level of decorum at all times — with fashion playing a major role — more often than not, the obsession with what they’re wearing feels like the perfect reflection of a larger issue in politics — distraction.
It’s easier to fixate on an outfit than actually engage with the real message, and somewhere in all the noise, the real political issues get lost in the chaos, as it did in the Oval Office last week.
Presidents aren’t intended to be fashion icons — and if you ask me, the First Lady usually fulfills that role much better.
Yes, fashion can absolutely be a useful and inventive tool for cultural messaging — but it’s not a substitute for policy. Ultimately, who cares about a suit when the world is literally on fire?
