Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) finally addressed the hubbub surrounding a pair of his black leather boots that took the Internet by storm this week, wondering Thursday whether people have “lost their minds.”
The boots captured the nation’s attention after a New York Times reporter shared a photograph of Rubio’s distinctive footwear.
Here’s the original photograph, in all its glory:
Marco Rubio is rocking some seriously fashionable black boots today in New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/lwiSWuuCUt
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) January 4, 2016
The boots elicited responses from some of Rubio’s GOP rivals, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who said the fashion-forward boots were “cute.”
Time reported that a man complimented Rubio on the trail Thursday and told him that the shoes he was wearing were “better” than the boots that went viral.
“So let me get this right: ISIS is cutting people’s heads off, setting people on fire in cages. Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the verge of war. The Chinese are landing airplanes on islands that they built,” Rubio responded, according to Time. “Our economy is flat-lined, the stock market is falling apart. But, boy, are we getting a ton of coverage about a pair of boots. This is craziness. Have people lost their minds?”