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The GOP's remaining presidential primary candidates, not including former President Donald Trump, debated again this week.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis currently sits about 45 points behind Trump, among the largest deficits he has faced during the campaign for the 2024 nomination.
DeSantis in particular has not carried through, as some may have hoped, as Trump's most immediate threat. Whatever has scuttled DeSantis' performance, one persistent rumor, that he relies on heel lifts, has pervaded his campaign and has been seized upon by his fellow candidates.
The detail appears not to have been missed by press photographers, either, with a collage of photos from the recent GOP debates showing the similarity between DeSantis' shoes and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's stiletto heels.
Since early October, DeSantis has been plagued by claims that he wears heel lifts. These are in addition to the short-heeled cowboy boots that have become a signature part of his look.
DeSantis denied that his boots included heel lifts, telling the PBD podcast in October that they were "standard, off-the-rack Lucchese boots," adding that he is 5-foot-11. Lucchese heels range from three-quarters of an inch to 2 inches.
Photos taken at the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate in November appeared to focus on Haley's and DeSantis' footwear.
One photo captured both candidates with the balls of their feet on the ground, in step with one another.
During the debate, Hayley said that her heels were 5 inches, responding to a swipe from candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who called her: "Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels."
Hayley replied: "They're 5-inch heels. And I don't wear them unless you can run in them."
DeSantis in late October dismissed claims that he wears any special lifts or modified footwear, saying he wears "standard" Lucchese boots.
Zephan Parker, a Houston bespoke bootmaker, told Politico in October that it looked as if DeSantis wore a heel slightly shorter or shaved heel, but Parker said the change would have been made to accommodate heel lifts in the boots.
"So on a ready-made boot, they'll cut down the heel about half an inch to accommodate the lifts, which looks to be what happened here," Parker said.
Haley and DeSantis are trailing Trump considerably, but the gap between the South Carolina and Florida governors has been closing recently. According to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Haley stands with an average support of 11.1 percent in the polls, with DeSantis just ahead with 12.8 percent.
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About the writer
Tom Norton is Newsweek's Fact Check reporter, based in London. His focus is reporting on misinformation and misleading information in ... Read more