Tan Suits Make a Statement
Stephen Colbert, David Letterman Wear Tan Suits Honoring Obama's 2014 KhakiGate Look
Key Points
Nesbitt, wearing taupe at the ceremony, said his suit was inspired by a “very good friend of mine, who made tan suits famous,” and added, “I don’t know about the rest of you all, but I thought he looked pretty good wearing his, so I decided to wear one myself.” After responding to Obama’s praise, Nesbitt added: “They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Attire details varied among the comedy nods: the same report notes that Colbert and Nesbitt paired their tan suits with striped neckties, while Letterman wore a taupe blazer with an ivory T-shirt and navy slacks.
In the immediate aftermath of Obama’s original 2014 “tan suit” controversy, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended the choice, telling reporters the president “stands squarely behind his decision he made yesterday to wear his summer suit.”
Obama later revisited the controversy on Colbert’s show in May, with Colbert asking if any displays would include the “tan suit.” Obama joked, “Listen, I own that tan suit proudly, brother,” and when asked what comes to mind about it, he answered in one word: “Fly.”
The New York Times reported that the event’s dress code “did not call for khaki,” but tan suits still dominated the opening; it also cited mainstream outlets’ lukewarm reactions—GQ and New York magazine said the suit was “sad”—while noting defenders pointed to historical precedents such as Ronald Reagan wearing tan in the Oval Office.
At the June 18 grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Stephen Colbert, David Letterman, and Obama Foundation chairman Martin Nesbitt all showed up in tan suits — a deliberate callback to President Barack Obama's infamous August 2014 press conference outfit that sparked days of national outrage. InStyle reported the coordinated fashion choice drew laughs and applause from thousands of guests gathered at John Lewis Plaza in Jackson Park.
Obama himself called Nesbitt's taupe suit 'sharp.' Nesbitt told the crowd he chose the look after being inspired by 'a very good friend of mine, who made tan suits famous,' adding, 'They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.' The center officially opened to the general public the next day, June 19, with museum tickets already sold out through October 2026, according to CBS News.
How a 2014 Press Conference Suit Became a Scandal
On August 28, 2014, Obama wore a light tan suit to a White House briefing on military options against ISIS in Syria. Critics pounced immediately. The suit inspired more than 4,000 tweets per minute, according to The Week. Republican congressman Peter King called the look 'unpresidential,' saying, 'There's no way any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday.' Fox News commentator Lou Dobbs called it 'shocking and unthinkable.'
The next day, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest pushed back. He told reporters that Obama 'stands squarely behind his decision he made yesterday to wear his summer suit.' Fashion critics piled on too. GQ published a piece titled '4 Quick Fixes for President Obama's Sad Khaki Suit.' Defenders pointed out that Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all wore tan suits in the Oval Office without similar blowback.
Colbert, Letterman, and Nesbitt Turn the Joke Into a Statement
At the 2026 ceremony, the tan suit became a shared punchline — and a point of pride. Colbert wore a full tan suit with a striped necktie. Letterman went more casual, pairing a taupe blazer with an ivory T-shirt and navy slacks. Nesbitt matched Colbert with a taupe suit and striped tie. The dress code, NOTUS noted, 'did not call for khaki.' The attendees chose the color on their own.
The joke had been building for months. In May 2026, on Colbert's farewell episode of *The Late Show*, Obama was asked whether his tan suit would be displayed at the new center. 'I own that tan suit proudly, brother,' Obama said. When asked what one word came to mind about it, he answered: 'Fly.' That exchange set up the opening ceremony's fashion moment perfectly, according to The Daily Beast.
The Original Suit Is Gone — Obama Gave It Away
Despite the suit's outsized cultural footprint, visitors to the new museum won't find it on display. Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett told reporters that Obama 'gave it away when he was cleaning out his closet,' according to NPR Illinois. So the physical artifact is gone. What remained at the opening was something harder to frame behind glass: a shared joke that grew into a symbol.
HuffPost noted that by reviving the tan suit without the actual garment, attendees turned the controversy into a 'living celebration' of the Obama era. Many guests described the suit as a 'relic of a more civil time' — when a wardrobe choice, not a policy crisis, dominated the news cycle for days. The center spans nearly 20 acres and is expected to draw more than 1 million visitors per year to Chicago's South Side.
A Star-Studded Night That Almost Upstaged the Suits
The tan suit jokes were far from the only attraction. The opening ceremony featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and U2's Bono and The Edge. Tens of thousands more watched a public viewing party on Midway Plaisance outside the main event, CBS News reported. The ceremony drew some of the biggest names in entertainment and politics to Chicago's South Side.
Yahoo News framed the fashion moment as more than a gag. By choosing tan without being asked to, Colbert and company signaled something pointed: if a beige summer suit was once the peak of presidential 'scandal,' the bar for outrage has moved dramatically in the decade since. The suit, once a punchline, had become a measuring stick.
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