NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua/GNA) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump, recently debuted unexpectedly at the “Sneaker Con” show in the U.S. northeastern city of Philadelphia, hawking new Trump-branded sneakers.
Trump’s appearance was greeted with loud boos as well as chants at the Philadelphia Convention Center on Saturday, as he introduced what he called the first official Trump footwear — “Never Surrender High-Tops.” These gilded high-tops are very shiny and have an American flag at the ankle. The soles are red. There is also a large embossed “T” on the sides and tongues of the shoes. “This is something that I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years. And I think it’s going to be a big success,” Trump said in his speech. “As he spoke, the smell of weed occasionally wafted through the room,” reported AP news agency.
The launch of his own brand of sneakers, came a day after Trump and his business organizations were ordered to pay as much as 355 million U.S. dollars in penalties in a business fraud case, lodged by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
In order to borrow more money at lower rates, Trump and the entities he controls submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements, said a decision and order by Arthur F. Engoron, a judge of the New York County Supreme Court.
Trump was also ordered last month to pay more than 83 million dollars in damages in a defamation lawsuit.
With interest, Trump’s legal debts could now total more than half a billion dollars. Being sold for 399 dollars on a website called GetTrumpSneakers.com that also sells other Trump-branded shoes, cologne and perfume, the sneakers were described as “Bold, gold, and tough, just like President Trump.”
According to the website, the gold sneakers are a “limited edition” and are currently “sold out.”
Since Trump declared his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election in November 2022, he has engaged in multiple for-profit business activities, including releasing digital trading cards that portrayed him and publishing a book.
Trump has been tied up in lawsuits. A U.S. appeals court ruled earlier this month that Trump is not immune from prosecution in a case, accusing him of plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to media reports.
GNA