Former President Donald Trump takes the stage to introduce a new line of signature shoes at Sneaker Con at the Philadelphia Convention Center on Saturday (Picture: Getty Images)
Ex-President Donald Trump has made a foray into the sneaker world by launching $399 gold high-tops – after being ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for business fraud.
Trump introduced ‘The Never Surrender High-Tops’ in an unlikely appearance at Sneaker Con Philadelphia a day after a judge imposed a nearly $355million penalty in his civil fraud case.
The former president held up a pair of the shiny gold kicks with a ‘T’ badge and an American flag wrapped around the collar as the crowd both cheered and booed.
‘I just want to tell you, you know I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things and they came up with this,’ said Trump on Saturday. ‘And this is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years.’
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He continued: ‘I think it’s going to be a big success. That’s the real deal, that’s the real deal.’
Only 1,000 pairs of Trump’s first official sneaker are being released and each one is numbered, according to a new website he launched named gettrumpsneakers.com. At least 10 are randomly autographed by Trump.
‘Bold, gold, and tough, just like President Trump,’ states the site.
‘They’re for the go-getters who don’t know the word quit.
Only 1,000 pairs of the shoes are being released, according to gettrumpsneakers.com (Picture: gettrumpsneakers.com)
Sneaker Con was founded in 2009 and is one of the oldest events celebrating sneakers, streetwear and urban culture (Picture: Getty Images)
‘The Never Surrender sneakers are your rally cry in shoe form. Lace-up and step out ready to conquer.’
There was a strict limit of three pairs per customer and they quickly sold out.
On Monday afternoon, eBay had the gold high-tops selling for over their face value, with a range from $1,499.99 to over $18,000.
The website also has T- Red Wave sneakers for $199, white-colored POTUS 45 sneakers for $199, and a Victory47 Cologne and a Victory47 Perfume for $99 each.
Former President Donald Trump holds gold Trump sneakers at Sneaker Con Philadelphia, an event popular among sneaker collectors (Picture: AP)
Ex-President Donald Trump said he had been talking about launching sneakers for at least a dozen years (Picture: AP)
All the products are ‘registered trademarks and/or trademarks of CIC Ventures LLC’ and the website states that it ‘is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign’.
‘Trump Sneakers are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals,’ reads a disclaimer.
The items went on sale as Trump appeals New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s Friday ruling that could wipe out all his cash on hand. Trump’s legal team has requested a stay on the enforcement during the appeal process.
Trump’s Sneaker Con appearance is also an attempt to reach younger voters as the November election approaches.
The website also has two other new pairs of Trump shoes on sale (Picture: gettrumpsneakers.com)
‘What’s the most important thing, to go out and vote right? We have to go out and vote. We got to get young people out to vote,’ he said.
‘And we’re going to remember the young people and we’re going to remember Sneaker Con.
‘You know that it’s a slightly different audience than I’m used to, but I love this audience.’
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