Former President Donald Trump received a decidedly mixed response when he debuted shiny gold Trump-branded sneakers at Sneaker Con in Pennsylvania. The launch of the $399 shoes comes after a week in which a judge ordered him to pay $355 million for fraud, but despite that nine-figure setback, he had some good news Saturday: Trump’s sneakers quickly sold out.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Trump said as he talked about the gold shoes. “I have some incredible people that work with me on things, and they came up with this. And this is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s going to be a big success.”
The shoes are gold with an American flag design around the ankle, with red soles and a Trump T emblazoned in gold on the sides, with another T on the shoes’ tongue.
The Biden campaign used the opportunity to take a shot at Trump, with communications director Michael Tyler mocking the obvious Nike-inspired styling.
“Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life,” his statement read.
“That’s the real deal,” Trump said at Sneaker Con, holding up the gold shoes. He continued to speak at a podium with the label “GetTrumpSneakers.com” all over the backdrop behind him and on his podium, where he spoke in between a sneaker on either side.
The limited-edition numbered run of 1,000 pairs, which include 10 signed by Trump, sold out. But no need to fear — the manufacturer is offering other Trump-branded shoes, including the “T – Red Wave” in red and “POTUS 45” in white with gold detailing.
“Never in our nation’s history has a U.S. president released their own sneaker,” Culture Kicks’ Chase Young said as he introduced Trump.
One fan bid $9,000 in order to get his hands on an autographed pair of the sneakers. The purchaser, Roman Sharf, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be “passing these down to my kids, but for now will display in the office 😎.”
Trump spoke to the crowd about getting young people out to vote.
“We’re going to remember the young people, and we’re going to remember Sneaker Con — you know that.” He added, “It’s a slightly different audience than I’m used to, but I love this audience.”
New Trump fragrances are also being sold by the company, including “Victory47 Cologne” with a bottle capped with a gold version of Trump’s own head, as well as the slightly more subtle perfume that comes in a curvy white bottle. They’re also offering Trump superhero charms, featuring an image of a superhero version of Trump in a red, white, blue and gold costume.
Signs were passed out to Sneaker Con attendees that read “Sneakerheads love Trump.”
Some sneaker fans broke out into a liberal vs. conservative battle online following the shoes’ release.
You can see more of Trump’s appearance below:
