This has certainly been a weird presidential election thus far. Media frenzies have come and gone, usually over incendiary comments or misstated facts. However, in one of the stranger turns of the 2016 primary contest, it seems Senator Marco Rubio's shiny, black, ankle-boots have caused quite a stir among pundits and voters. The candidate's apparel choice earned him relentless mocking from other candidates and political insiders.
Rick Tyler, communications director for Senator Ted Cruz, wrote on Twitter, "A Vote for Marco Rubio Is a Vote for Men's High-Heeled Booties" (interesting for a candidate who so highly values his own boots.) Before an appearance on The View, Senator Rand Paul said, "Rubio has those cute new boots and I don't want to be outdone." Further, Carly Fiorina posted a picture of her own high-heeled boots with the caption, "Yeah, @marcorubio, but can you rock these?"
Rubio did not seem amused by the taunts. He called the backlash over his boots "craziness," while "ISIS is cutting people's heads off, setting people on fire in cages [and] Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the verge of a war."
The controversy over the boots is not particularly surprising given Rubio's establishment credentials and formative campaign infrastructure. Although Cruz is polling well in Iowa, and at best, Rubio can hope for third place, many are worried that he is seen as the only viable Republican candidate for the general election. Now is the time in the election cycle where almost anything goes. As the Iowa caucuses approach, and with the often controversial South Carolina primaries right behind, many are bracing for an onslaught of negativity among competing candidates. As struggling figures like Fiornia and Paul try to make a case for their viability in the general, they must try to distance themselves from the current establishment front-runner.
