The White House has welcomed a great variety of people, and not all of them have come in suits and ties
Māris Antonevičs/Latvijas Avīze
The clothing of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leader of Ukraine, has become a much-discussed issue in recent days. In the context of all the other things – the heated exchange of words between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office of the White House, the unsigned deal and doubts about further US support for Ukraine – it might seem like a minor issue, but many critics of Zelenskyy find it unacceptable that he arrived not in a suit and tie, but in his usual military-style national clothing.
For example, Donald Trump’s adviser Roger Stone has said that such clothing is “disrespectful to the American people”. This has been widely echoed by Republicans on social media. Several signs suggest that the suit issue has not emerged by accident.
“Do you have a suit?”
these kinds of jokes are typical of Donald Trump. For example, a few days ago, at a press conference after a speech by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, he said: “What a beautiful accent. I would have been President 20 years ago if I had that accent.”
The issue of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s clothing resurfaced in the Oval Office of the White House, in front of journalists. “Why do not you wear a suit? You are at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Do you own a suit?” – that was one of the first questions. It was asked by Brian Glenn, a correspondent for Real America’s Voice, described as a far-right media outlet. Zelenskyy replied that he will wear a suit when the war is over and took the opportunity to loosen things up a bit with a remark: “Maybe something like yours, maybe something better… Maybe something cheaper.”
When Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House on 28 February, the first words he was greeted with by Trump as he got out of the car were “You are all dressed up today”. However, Donald Trump did not join the conversation in this episode.
It has been alleged that the question was not accidental, but politically motivated. This is suggested, first of all, by the fact that Brian Glenn is not a neutral reporter, but an active supporter of MAGA (the Republican Party wing ideologically close to Donald Trump) and is in a relationship with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most prominent members of that wing, who last year was very active in opposing military aid to Ukraine.
Later on, Brian Glenn again addressed the suit issue on the social network X, stating that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s suit “reflects his inner disrespect for not only our country, the President and the US citizens that have made it possible for Ukraine to survive as long as they have”,
and adding that this disrespect was further demonstrated by a discussion with the US President and Vice President, concluding with an eloquent conclusion: “So yes, you can judge a book by its cover.”
Clothing as a symbol
Why Volodymyr Zelenskyy changed his style of dress rapidly after the outbreak of the war has been explained many times. The Facebook photo archive of the President of Ukraine shows that as late as 23 February 2022, the day before the full-scale Russian invasion, he was wearing a dark suit and tie during a meeting in Kyiv with the Presidents of Poland and Lithuania. The very next day, he appeared in public wearing a khaki T-shirt, and in the following months he was seen mostly in this military-style clothing. Later, however, his wardrobe was complemented by specially designed outfits combining national motifs (the so-called Ukrainian vyshyvankas) and patriotic elements, most often the coat of arms of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explained that this is how he will dress until the war is over. This is a symbolic move, as the President reminds the world that his country is fighting for freedom, while at the same time showing solidarity with the soldiers at the front.
In 2022, the Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Komarov made the documentary “Year”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is showing his office, where he has to stay around the clock, which is why he has arranged a bedroom there. In one episode, they enter a wardrobe where there are only khaki T-shirts, jackets and trousers, and a journalist asks where the suits are.
Zelenskyy takes a suit in a bag from the far corner and says: “This is a symbol that the war will end soon, we will win, and I will wear it.” “So it is a symbol of victory,” says the journalist. “Yes,” Zelenskyy confirms
Christopher Miller, a journalist for the American Financial Times, recalled that after an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he made a remark about his beard, to which the President of Ukraine replied that it was a “war beard”, adding that his wife liked it, so he might have to keep it. When Zelenskyy visited the US at the end of 2022, individual remarks about his outfit also appeared on social networks at the time. Christopher Miller explained to the Americans: “Zelenskyy sticks to his wartime uniform when meeting with Biden. (…) Zelenskyy told me that he would not return to wearing a suit and tie and shaving his beard until Ukraine wins the war.”
Old photos used for disinformation
There has also been a lot of disinformation precisely about the suit. The aforementioned Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone points out in The New York Post: “He wore a suit to the [Davos] World Economic Forum event, but he cannot wear one to address Congress or meet the President-elect of the United States?” Various pictures have been posted on social media of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a suit meeting the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, the President of France Emmanuel Macron, the Chair of the Davos Forum Klaus Schwab and others. They are making it look as if these meetings took place recently and that the President of Ukraine had no problem wearing a suit around everyone else, but Donald Trump. However, all these photos were taken before 24 February 2022.
The question is, why is this suddenly so important in this situation? The White House has welcomed a great variety of people, and not all of them have come in suits and ties.
This includes the leaders of various countries, who often arrive in styled national costumes, such as recently did the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. One version is that the Trump’s administration also had the aim of using the suit matter for political purposes. If Volodymyr Zelenskyy is wearing it, then it could be seen as a symbolic statement that the war must end, that Donald Trump is keeping his promise. Māris Andžāns, a Political Scientist and Director of the Centre for Geopolitical Studies, doubts that this was the intention: “Nobody is thinking that far there. It looked more like a provocation on the part of the journalist in question – a show of dislike, a derogatory, rude remark. No other country has ever made such criticisms of Zelenskyy.”
Meanwhile, the fashion newspaper WWD (Women’s Wear Daily) contacted the Ukrainian designer Elvira Gasanova, who has designed many outfits for the President of Ukraine, immediately after the incident. “I never imagined that any of these designs would become a geopolitical issue,” she said. However, after the scandalous press conference, the demand for her clothing has increased significantly, including with many orders from the US. T-shirts with Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words “I will wear a suit when the war is over” are also becoming popular.
