As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday by selling new Trump-branded sneakers at Sneaker Con, a gathering that bills itself as the largest sneaker show in the world.

Trump was met with loud cheers and cheers at the Philadelphia Convention Center as he introduced what he called the first official Trump footwear.

The shoes, gold-colored 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 eau-de-vie and perfume for $99 per bottle. If re-elected, he would be the 47th president.

The website says it has no connection with Trump’s campaign, although Trump campaign officials promoted the appearance in online posts.

On Friday, 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 deceive banks, insurers and others by inflating his assets .

wealth

on annual accounts.

That fine came after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million

the

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.

Trump’s appearance was met with clashing boos from his opponents and American chants! of supporters who arrived at the sneaker event in Trump gear. The dueling chants sometimes made it difficult to hear Trump speak. A few hero signs that say SNEAKERHEADS LOVE TRUMP.

There is a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said of the reaction, after holding up and showing off a pair of gold shoes, then placing one on each side of his lectern.

stage

.

“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, but from nearby states and Washington.

Attendees were younger and more diverse than Trump’s usual rally crowd. 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.

This isn’t the first money-making venture Trump has announced since launching his third White House campaign in 2022. Trump reported last year earning between $100,000 and $1 million for a series of digital trading cards featuring him , through photo editing. in a series of cartoonish images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.

Trump’s 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 his 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, including whether Trump was paid to attend.

The website describes the shoes as a limited-edition, numbered genuine collectible that is cool, gold and badass, just like President Trump.

The Never Surrender sneakers are your battle cry in shoe form,” reads the description. Lace up and step out, ready to conquer.

Among the crowd were Jonathen Santiago, 21, and Danea Mitchell, 20, Trump supporters who drove from Monroe County in the northeastern part of the state to the sneaker event. They said they were excited to see the former president and praised the way he handled the crowd. They also had kind words for the sneakers.

The red bottoms were a really nice touch, Mitchell said.

She shrugged when asked about Trump’s legal troubles. “I think it will be an interesting four years if he is found guilty, but I have no doubt he will become president,” she said.

Also in attendance was a group of cheer moms from New Jersey who said they were in town for a cheerleading event and decided to stop by to see Trump.

Karla Burke, 48, said she heard some people booing and making noise, but most of the people around her were supporters. There was a different atmosphere at the front, she said.

As for Friday’s sentence in Trump’s civil fraud trial, Burke said it doesn’t change her support. “I think it was unfair,” she said. They’re just after him, so he’s not the Republican candidate.

Michael Tyler, communications director for Biden-Harris 2024, denounced the performance, saying: Donald Trump appearing at the hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll ever get to an Air Force Ones for the rest of his life.

Trump planned a rally later Saturday in Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit. ___Colvin reported from New York.