Greg Kelly Defends His Clothes After Donald Trump Photo Prompts Mockery

Clothes maketh the man, but they can also lead to mockery on social media, as conservative TV host Greg Kelly has discovered.

The anchor for right-wing media source Newsmax has defended a sartorial choice he made before posing with the former President Donald Trump by a golf course in a picture he shared on Twitter.

With Trump in a red "Keep America Great" cap, Kelly replicates the former president's trademark thumbs-up pose. Meanwhile, Kelly treads that tricky line between formal and informal, with a navy blue jacket, light-blue shirt and khaki pant combination.

It wasn't the casual chic look that got people talking. Getting the attention were the tapered pants, which were a little on the neat side and had what appeared to be four zipped pockets, ideal for keys or small change.

Bigger pockets providing more storage space were on the side of both legs, while rounding out the ensemble was a pair of dark loafers.

"Chillin' with 45," tweeted Kelly, presumably referring to Trump's position among White House occupants, rather than his waist size. In brackets, Kelly adds "and yes. Those are BUGLE BOY jeans I'm wearing," referring to a brand popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

It did not impress some though, with Brandon Smith tweeting: "Dude...you're 55 years old wearing skinny jeans? Why in the hell are there so many zippers?"

Another user tweeted: "It looks like a pair of cargo pants mated with some jodhpurs and it's offspring got all of the worst jeans... er, um genes."

The criticism led to a follow-up tweet in which Kelly shared a cropped version of the image and next to an even more close-up of his trousers, he wrote: "Everyone busting my CRACKERS over the 'pants'—(partially my fault because I called attention to them with the Bugle Boy comment).

"The truth is, they're BALMAIN (the most prestigious brand in PANTS)" referring to the range of trousers which can cost between $500 and $1,200.

"My shoes are by Ferragamo. Basically, I'm a Sharp Dressed Man. Thank you!" he added.

However, a few begged to differ. Anang Mittal tweeted: "Ensure your clothes fit (your pants are sagging and bunching at your ankles) and ensure that nothing you wear clashes with each other. This is not it sir." Sheila Flynn wrote "tapered pants don't always suit the 'mature' body, Greg."

Cody Johnston tweeted an image of jeans, with the message, "Don't worry sir, I think they look very cool. Here are the pants I wear every day, they cost three thousand dollars."

Kelly hosts the show Greg Kelly Reports on the website, which is loyal to Trump. Newsmax amplified Trump's false claims that the election he lost to President Joe Biden had been marred by election fraud.

Last week, Newsmax issued a retraction and apologized to an employee of Dominion Voting Systems, who the outlet had falsely claimed had manipulated votes in the 2020 presidential race. Newsweek has contacted Newsmax for comment.