Vice President JD Vance lucked out when taking a small fashion risk at the White House on Wednesday. While meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin for a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, President Donald Trump stopped mid-sentence to comment on Vance’s footwear for the day. Trump was on the brink of talking inflation when he took a moment to tell his second-in-command how he loved his shamrock-adorned socks.
“What’s with these socks?” Trump asked, prompting people in the press pool to laugh. After Vance explained that the fashion choice was in honor of the Irish prime minister, Trump joked, “I’m trying to stay focused, but I’m very impressed with the VP’s socks.” Earlier in the day, the vice president told reporters he wasn’t sure if the chief executive would approve of the kitschy socks, given Trump’s taste for more traditional styles. But Vance decided to settle on the look, telling the White House press pool he thought they’d be a nice diplomatic gesture towards Ireland’s leader. “That is the only reason I’m wearing these socks,” he said.
Though Trump’s mood seemed upbeat during his meeting with the Irish prime minister, that didn’t stop him from confronting his guest about trade imbalances between the nations. The president argued that Ireland had taken advantage of the U.S. by cutting its corporate tax rates in the early 2000s, inspiring over 1,000 American businesses to relocate across the Atlantic since. (Trump’s tax changes in 2017 also made Ireland an appealing alternative for U.S. companies who’d previously found tax havens in the Caribbean, the Washington Post reported.)
During the meeting, Trump blamed his political predecessors as he told Martin, “I have great respect for Ireland, for what they did, and they should have done just what they did. But the United States shouldn’t have let that happen. We had stupid leaders, we had leaders who didn’t have a clue.” Check out the president’s reaction to Vance’s socks right here:
