Donald Trump has launched his own sneaker brand, a day after a New York judge ordered him to pay $354.9m in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders.
“I’ve wanted to do this a long time,” the former US president said, as he unveiled what he called the first official Trump footwear at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia, a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”
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.
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.
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”.
