As he closes in on a Republican bid for the presidency, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday to hawk his new Trump-branded athletic footwear at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering billed as “the greatest athletic footwear show on Earth.”
Trump was greeted with loud boos as well as applause at the Philadelphia Convention Center as he unveiled what he called the first official Trump-branded athletic shoe.
The sneakers, gold-colored with an American flag detail on the back, are sold as “Never Surrender High-Tops” for $399 on a new website that also offers Trump-branded “Victory47” cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle. Should he win the election, he will be the 47th president of the United States.
The website clarifies that it has no connection to the Trump campaign, although officials of the former president’s campaign promoted the appearance in messages on the Internet.
On Friday, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in fines, finding that the former president lied about his wealth for years, scheming to deceive banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial disclosures.
That fine came after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to columnist E. Jean Carroll for damaging his reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. With interest payments, Trump’s legal debts could now exceed $500 million, an amount it is unclear he can afford to pay.
Trump’s appearance was met with boos from his detractors and chants of “USA!” from his supporters, who arrived at the event dressed in Trump regalia. The dueling chants made it difficult, at times, to hear Trump speak. Some carried signs that read “Sneakerheads love Trump.”
“There’s a lot of excitement in this room,” Trump said of the reaction, after holding up and showing off a pair of gold sneakers, then placing one on either side of his podium.
“This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years,” he said.
Some of the attendees said they didn’t know Trump would be there, and continued shopping as a crowd gathered around the stage. Many of the attendees said they were not from the city, but came from nearby states and Washington.