Doocy presses WH spox on double standard over Zelenskyy’s shabby appearance: ‘Elon Musk never wears a suit’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been criticized for his refusal to dress accordingly for last week’s Oval Office meeting with President Donald J. Trump, and some in the media are whining about a double standard.

The topic came up on Wednesday when Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt whether such a double standard exists with officials critical of the Ukrainian leader even though DOGE boss Elon Musk also prefers casual attire and hasn’t dressed up for his own appearances with the president.

“We know that some officials here were miffed that Zelensky showed up last week without a suit for his meeting in the Oval Office, but Elon Musk never wears a suit,” Doocy noted during the daily briefing.

“He did last night,” Leavitt corrected the Fox News reporter, pointing out that the Tesla/SpaceX CEO dressed for the occasion during Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

“So, what is the dress code?” Doocy asked.

“Well, Elon Musk wore a suit last night,” Leavitt replied. “I’m sure you saw it…”

Doocy then asked, “Was he spooked by Zelenskyy getting kicked out?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m just pointing out that he did wear a suit last night,” she laughingly answered. “And I think the president liked that very much — and he looked great.”

The big sit-down with Trump and Vice President JD Vance for the signing of the on-again, off-again Ukraine mineral deal couldn’t have gone worse for the diminutive “dictator without elections,” as he was dubbed by Trump, going off the rails when Zelenskyy was unable to behave for even a short period and openly bickered with the two U.S. leaders in front of the media, getting the heave-ho from the White House with the deal still unsigned.

Last week, Leavitt suggested that the reason for his being booted from the premises was a lack of respect, including not wearing a suit for the important event.

In a viral video posted to social media, Trump mocked the little Ukrainian over his shabby attire as he arrived at the White House wearing a tracksuit. “Look, you’re all dressed up,” he said.

It’s worth noting that Zelenskyy is the leader of a country, and whenever he shows up in Washington, he’s begging for money, while Musk is a private citizen who’s devoting his own time to auditing the massive U.S. bureaucracy to root out waste, fraud, and corruption. It would seem that the media are the ones who have a double standard.

Chris Donaldson

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