At the White House on Friday, a meeting between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned combative when Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance openly berated the Ukrainian president in front of a crowd of reporters. At one point, a Trump-friendly commentator named Brian Glenn picked on Zelenskyy’s style, asking, “Why don’t you wear a suit … Do you own a suit?” as Trump and Vance giggled like schoolyard bullies. Zelenskyy responded that he may wear a “costume” again once his country’s war with Russia ends. “Maybe sometimes like yours, maybe something better.” (Glenn, who is Marjorie Taylor Greene’s boyfriend, was wearing a garishly bright blue suit, similar to the ones Defense secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth has been wearing.)
Trump had already picked on Zelenskyy’s attire when he greeted him as Zelenskyy emerged from his car before the meeting. “You’re all dressed up today,” Trump said sarcastically.
Zelenskyy’s pared-down style has become his signature since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, when the president abandoned the typical politician’s suit uniform for mostly cotton T-shirts, sweatpants, and cargo pants. His look has become a powerful symbol of his country’s continued fight against Russian forces. On Friday, Zelenskyy dressed in all black, topped with a quarter-zip emblazoned with the Ukrainian trident logo.
Despite Glenn’s comments, Zelenskyy’s attire is not without precedent: In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wore a siren suit, a one-piece worn during air raids, on a visit to the White House. At the time, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt welcomed Churchill in an effort to persuade the American public to join World War II. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, came to Washington this week hoping to strike a deal with Trump that would set Ukraine on the path to peace with Russia. Instead, Zelenskyy cut his visit short, following a meeting that Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised as “historic.”