Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday, February 17, launched a sneaker line, a day after he and his companies were ordered by a judge to pay nearly $355 million in his New York civil fraud trial.
The former president unveiled “Trump Sneakers” at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.
He placed a pair of gold sneakers, which a new website has listed for $399 and named the “NEVER SURRENDER HIGH-TOP SNEAKER,” on the podium as he spoke.
He was met with loud boos as well as cheers, Associated Press reported, adding that as he spoke, the smell of weed occasionally wafted through the room. Attendees skewed younger and more diverse than Trump’s usual rally crowds, the news wire wrote.
This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s going to be a big success,” said Trump, who is marching closer toward the 2024 Republican nomination and a potential rematch with President Joe Biden.
The shoes, shiny, gold high tops with an American flag detail on the back, are being sold as Never Surrender High-Tops for $399 on a new website that also sells Trump-branded Victory47 cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle. Trump would be the 47th president if elected again.
The website says it has no connection to Trump’s campaign, though Trump campaign officials promoted the appearance in online posts.
By Saturday night, the $399 sneakers were listed as sold out on the website. There had been 1,000 pairs of the sneakers available for purchase, according to the site.
The former president is also selling two versions of sneakers that have “T” and “45” on the sides for $199, according to the website. Cologne and perfume are for sale at $99 each
According to the website, the products are “trademarks of CIC Ventures LLC. Trump Sneakers are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals. 45Footwear, LLC uses the Trump name, image and likeness under a license agreement.”
Following his appearance at Sneaker Con, Trump is expected to head to Michigan to address supporters for the first time since the rulings in separate New York cases thrust into the spotlight the legal peril he faces on multiple fronts.
On Thursday, a New York state judge confirmed that Trump’s criminal trial in a hush money case will begin March 25. A day later, Trump and his companies were ordered to pay nearly $355 million for fraudulently inflating the values of his properties.
When combined with the $83 million judgment issued against Trump for defaming E. Jean Carroll, the 2024 Republican front-runner has been fined roughly $438 million over the past four weeks.
Trump later lashed out at Justice Arthur Engoron, who on Friday ordered him as well as his eldest sons and associates to pay over $354.9m plus pre-judgment interest after finding them guilty of intentionally committing financial fraud over the course of a decade.
Addressing supporters for the first time since the ruling, the frontrunner for the Republican White House nomination told thousands of supporters at a campaign rally in Michigan the decision was an “election interference ploy”.
He made the unsubstantiated claim that the judge was part of a “left wing” conspiracy aimed at stopping him from becoming president again, adding that “these repulsive abuses of power are not just an attack on me, they are an attack on all Americans”.
Trump also repeated his lie that his 2020 election defeat to Democratic US President Joe Biden was due to election fraud.
Engoron also banned Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. The judge said of Trump and his co-defendants: “Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.”
New York attorney general Letitia James had accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth by as much $3.6bn a year over a decade to fool bankers into giving him better loan terms.
Trump also faces four state and federal criminal trials, including one scheduled to start in New York on 25 March, over alleged hush money payments to a porn star. That means Trump will become the first former US president to stand trial on criminal charges.
Peoplesmind