Donald Trump started his sneaker brand the day after a judge in New York told him to pay $354.9 million in fines for lying to lenders about how much money he had.
The former president said, “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” as he revealed what he called the first official Trump shoes at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia. The event is billed as “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”
The Associated Press said that people both booed and cheered him loudly. They also said that as he spoke, the smell of marijuana would sometimes spread through the room. The news wire said that the crowd was younger and more diverse than Trump’s normal rallies.
A new website selling Trump-branded Victory47 cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle also has the shoes for sale. They are shiny gold high tops with an American flag on the back. Never Surrender High-Tops cost $399. If Trump wins again, he will be the 47th president.
Even though Trump campaign leaders promoted the appearance in online posts, the website says it has nothing to do with Trump’s campaign.
After the fact, Trump yelled at Justice Arthur Engoron, who found him, his two oldest sons, and some of their business partners guilty of fraud over a decade and ordered them to pay over $354.9 million plus pre-judgment interest on Friday.
The frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president spoke to fans at a campaign rally in Michigan for the first time since the decision. He called it an “election interference ploy” and talked to thousands of people there.
Trump Barred from New York Businesses for 3 Years After “Pathological” Lack of Remorse
Trump said that the judge was part of a “left-wing” plot to stop him from becoming president again, which was not true. He also said, “These disgusting abuses of power are not just an attack on me; they are an attack on all Americans.”
Trump also claimed that election theft cost him the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
Engoron also told Trump that he couldn’t be an officer or director of any New York company for three years. The judge said this about Trump and his co-defendants: “Their complete lack of regret and remorse is almost pathological.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged Trump and his family businesses misled about his net worth by $3.6bn a year for ten years to seek better loan terms from banks.
Trump is also facing four state and federal criminal cases. One of them, in New York on March 25, is about alleged hush money payments to a porn star. Trump will be the first former president to be tried for a crime.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s last opponent for the Republican presidential nomination, held an event in South Carolina right before he spoke.
After the decision on Friday, Haley went after Trump right away on Saturday morning.
Haley often says that Trump is “chaos” and that he can’t be a good president or candidate because he has so many court issues.
“He has court dates in March and April.” He has court dates in May and June. Haley told Fox News, “He said himself that he’s going to spend more time in court than on the campaign trail.”
Trump is certain to get the Republican nomination
After recent wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, Trump is almost certain to get the Republican nomination for president. He will likely face Biden again in the general election.
Although Haley has no obvious path to the Republican nomination, she won’t give up. She may be making her last stand in her home state of South Carolina, where the primary is on February 24 and she trails Trump in the polls.
Haley also suggested Trump was wrong for not addressing Alexei Navalny’s death at her Saturday night gathering. Trump again ignored Navalny during his Michigan event.
Navalny Dead at 47 in Russian Prison
Russia’s jail service said that Navalny, who was 47 years old, died on Friday at the “Polar Wolf” prison colony in the Arctic. People in the West, including Biden, said that the death was the fault of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Western leaders didn’t give any proof.
In Irmo, South Carolina, Haley spoke to a crowd and said that he had gotten close to Putin in the past. Trump said on February 10 that he would “encourage” Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO state that didn’t spend enough on defense. This was another thing she brought up.
She said, “He is supporting a thug who kills his political opponents.”
