PHILADELPHIA — As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, selling new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “World’s Largest Sneaker Show.” !â€
Trump was met with loud cheers and cheers at the Philadelphia Convention Center when he unveiled what he touted as the first official Trump footwear. The shoes, gold-colored high-tops with an American flag detail on the back, are being sold as “The Never Surrender High-Tops” for $399 on a new website that also sells Trump’s “Victory47” perfume and cologne for $99 . a bottle.
The website says it is not related to Trump’s campaign, although Trump campaign officials have promoted the appearance in online posts.
The launch comes a day after a judge in New York ordered Trump to pay as much as $355 million in fines, finding that the former president had lied about his wealth for years and schemed to defraud banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth in financial statements.
The harsh punishment came after Trump was ordered to pay an additional $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. With interest payments, Trump’s legal debts could now exceed half a billion dollars — an amount it is unclear he can afford to pay.
This isn’t the first money-making venture Trump has announced since launching his third campaign for the White House in 2022. Trump reported last year that he earned between $100,000 and $1 million for a series of digital trading cards on which he was photoshopped in a series of cartoonish images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.
Trump’s appearance was met with clashing boos from his opponents and cries of “USA!” of supporters who arrived to the sneaker event decked out in Trump gear. The dueling chants sometimes made it difficult to hear Trump speak. Some held signs that read “SNEAKERHEADS LOVE TRUMP.”
“There’s a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said, after holding up the gold shoes and showing them off, then placing them on either side of his podium.
“This is something I’ve been talking about for 12, 13 years,” he said.
As he spoke, the smell of marijuana occasionally wafted through the room.
Some of the attendees said they did not know Trump would be there and continued to shop as a crowd gathered around the stage. Many in the audience said they were not from the city and were instead from nearby states and Washington, DC. Attendees were younger and more diverse than Trump’s usual crowd, and some black attendees left to continue shopping as Trump spoke.
Trump’s campaign hopes he can win over more young and minority voters, especially young black men, in a likely rematch against President Joe Biden in November.
The new sneaker website says it is operated by CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure. A company of the same name, CIC Digital LLC, owns the digital trading card NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.
The website states that the new venture “is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign.”
A Trump spokesperson did not respond to questions about the event.
The website touts the shoes as a “true collector’s item” limited edition that is “bold, gold-colored and cool, just like President Trump.”
“The Never Surrender sneakers are your battle cry in shoe form. Lace up your shoes and step out, ready to conquer,” the description reads.
Michael Tyler, communications director for Biden-Harris 2024, denounced the performance, saying: “Donald Trump showing up at the hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he will ever get to an Air Force Ones for the rest of his life. ”
Trump will hold a rally later Saturday in Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit.
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Colvin reported from New York.