A European leader whose country is under horrific siege comes to the White House, and during his stay wears not a suit and tie, but informal garb reflecting the military struggle of his nation.
You may have read that his manner of dress exposed him to criticism from our president. This is untrue – because I’m talking not about Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, but Britain’s Winston Churchill.
During a multi-day visit in wartime January of 1942, Churchill – no stranger to black-tie outfits and Homburg hats – astonished the press when he turned up on the White House lawn wearing what he called his “romper suit” – zip-up coveralls like those you might encounter in an auto repair shop.
But this garment was much more than that; he also referred to it as his “siren suit,” designed by the prime minister himself so he could pull it on quickly when air raid warnings screamed over London.
White House response to Churchill’s unconventional attire was far different from the acrimony that recently greeted Zelensky’s. In an issue crammed with war news on Jan. 6, 1942, a headline in the New York Times declared of Eleanor Roosevelt:
FIRST LADY HOPES
TO GET ‘SIREN SUIT’
Likes Churchill’s and Says the
President Shall Have One if
Materials Can Be Spared.
Also enamored of Churchill’s sartorial selection, Life magazine a few days later gave it a four-photo spread with this headline:
HAPPY WINSTON CHURCHILL
TAKES TIME OFF AND
ZIPS HIS ZIPPER SUIT
Churchill, believing the siren suit was symbolic of perseverance in standing up to Axis powers, wore it not just at his home, but at meetings with a number of leaders, including FDR, British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, and Joseph Stalin.
While the wartime White House liked Churchill’s informality, the attitude there a few weeks ago was disgracefully hostile. Zelensky’s greeting from Donald Trump was a sarcastic, “You’re all dressed up today.”
Later, in the now-famous wrangle that erupted during their Oval Office meeting, Zelensky’s outfit drew laughter from Vice President JD Vance – ironic, since Vance had so far played second fiddle to Trump’s chainsaw man Elon Musk, who’s often seen in t-shirts.
The Oval Office attack on Zelensky came from a president who seems intent on falling into lockstep with Russia’s war criminal Vladimir Putin.
A saner course would be to heed some long-ago words from Churchill: Months before Pearl Harbor, when his country was fighting Hitler’s Third Reich without us, he implored President Roosevelt, “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”
That has been Zelensky’s plea for the past three years, but Trump has been inconsistent about it and – astonishingly – has declared Ukraine the aggressor.
The recent dustup between an informally-clad Zelensky – who stands so bravely for freedom against a murderous Russian onslaught – and our suit-wearing presidential thug, showed for all to see that in Trump’s case, clothes clearly do not make the man.
Gerry Goldstein (gerryg76@verizon.net), a frequent contributor, is a retired Providence Journal editor and columnist.