JD Vance reveals secret White House dress code Trump expects from confidants and the footwear he hates

Published: 15:33, 20 June 2026 | Updated: 15:40, 20 June 2026 Vice President JD Vance has revealed that President Donald Trump has specific expectations for how his inner circle should dress in the Oval Office, including the color of their shoes.  Vance appeared on the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast on Thursday as part of a press tour for his new book, Communion, where he discussed a slew of topics, including the war in Iran, his contentious interview on The View, and his faith.  At the start of the conversation, Hannity joked that he convinced Vance to take off his tie, and the two men sat in matching white button-downs.  'I'm sure the president will watch the show and will say, 'Why weren't you wearing a tie?' To the both of us,' Vance responded.  The vice president said that the president's uniform and unofficial dress code he expects from his cabinet members was a navy suit, a solid tie and black shoes.  'He'll bust the chops of some of the cabinet members if they've got brown shoes on,' the vice president revealed.  Hannity then referenced a viral White House moment in which Trump laid into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for wearing a military outfit instead of a traditional suit.  'That was not a good moment for him. And it's funny because things kind of worked out. And I think, you know, we were able to repair that relationship,' Vance said.  JD Vance was a guest on the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast earlier this week, where he revealed behind-the-scenes tidbits about Trump's White House  Vance joked that Trump always wore a navy blue suit, black shoes and a solid color tie. He added that the president will 'dig' members of the cabinet who do not adhere to the unofficial dress code  Hannity said that he had to convince Vance to ditch his tie for the informal podcast  'But the president has a sense that you ought to respect the place. You ought to respect the institution, respect the office, and one of the ways you do that is by dressing like a normal person.'  Vance then recalled a time when Trump called out his son, Donald Trump Jr, for wearing a 'spread collar.' The vice president chalked up the comment as a 'dig,' praising his boss for his 'sense of humor.' 'If you've ever played a sport, if you've ever been in a locker room, if you've ever been just around guys, one of the ways we relate to each other, of course, is by busting chops,' Vance continued.  'So, I always take it as a sign of, you know, respect, of affection. And I think that it's one of the things that the media has never understood about Donald Trump. 'They've never understood his humor. They've never understood how he relates to people. And so they always misinterpret or straight up lie about some of the things he says.'  Hannity pointed to Trump's frequent pitting of Vance against Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a 2028 presidential candidate.  Earlier this year, Trump polled an audience at a Rose Garden event on whether they would prefer Rubio or Vance as the nominee.   Vance also praised the president's sense of humor, chalking up Trump's frequent pitting of him against Marco Rubio as 'nothing serious'  'Who's it gonna be? Is it gonna be JD? Is it gonna be somebody else? I don't know,' Trump said.  Vance said Trump's comments were just for 'fun' and there was 'nothing serious behind it.'  He then praised the president's 'unbelievable comedic timing,' calling Trump 'off the charts funny.'  The lighthearted exchange was a stark contrast to some of his other recent press appearances, including on The View.  During his sit-down on the daytime television show, he answered tense questions on the administration's handling of the Epstein files and the war in Iran.  The White House referred a request for comment to the vice president's office.   The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.