Trump Launches $400 Sneaker Line
Facts
- Former US Pres. Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., on Saturday, during which he unveiled the limited edition 'Never Surrender high-tops' for $399 per pair.1
- The website selling the shoes, which the Trump campaign says is not connected to them, also posted Victory47 cologne and perfume for $99 per bottle — a reference to Trump becoming the 47th president if he were to win reelection.2
- While the website GetTrumpSeakers.com says it's 'not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign,' the company is using Trump's brand through a licensing agreement, which could likely mean Trump's receiving a revenue cut.3
- While the 1K limited edition high-tops were reportedly sold out within two hours of being posted on the website, 'at least ten' of which Trump will autograph, the website still hosts low-top sneakers, and two others called 'POTUS 45' and 'T-Red Wave' each for $99.4
- During Trump's roughly 5-minute address to the sneaker convention crowd — which was met with both cheers and boos — the current 2024 GOP frontrunner said the shoe brand was 'something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 15 years.'5
- The sneaker announcement followed multiple legal losses for Trump, including a New York judge ordering him to pay over $350M in his civil fraud case as well as the recent $83M ruling against Trump in the (E. Jean Carroll) defamation case.6
Sources: 1New York Post, 2Guardian, 3nytimes.com, 4Forbes, 5wsj.com and 6Daily Wire.
Narratives
- Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by New York Times. Proven by the licensing address of this shoe manufacturer being the same as one of his golf resorts, Donald Trump is tied financially to the sale of these shoes. However, despite his efforts to pretend that this isn't a scheme to bring in income after losing yet another multi-million-dollar lawsuit, the only result of this cynical stunt is the continued trivialization of his legal losses.
- Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Human Events. Donald Trump has never lost his supporters because he does what old-fashioned Republicans would never do — not give up. As Democrats seek to win by trying to put their primary political opponent in jail, Trump continues to meet regular Americans where they are and provide to them about what they care about. Donald Trump isn't the one trivializing the weaponized justice system — he's the one poking fun at its institutional rot.