Crying Donald Trump Supporter Takes Stage During Sneaker Con Event

Donald Trump brought a crying supporter on stage during a brief speech during a Sneaker Con event in Philadelphia on Saturday.

In tears, the supporter could be heard exclaiming, "My kids need you, Trump. I love this man, we need him. He's a good Christian. He's a good honest man, go out and vote for Trump."

Trump attended the event to promote his new Trump Sneakers brand.

The appearance comes one day after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that the former president will be fined roughly $355 million and be barred from doing business in New York for three years after a monthslong civil fraud trial from late last year into early January.

The civil trial stemmed from a lawsuit that New York Attorney General Letitia James filed in September 2022 in which she accused Trump, his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney of fraudulently overvaluing assets to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals. Trump, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

Context:

Following Friday's ruling in which he vowed to appeal, Trump shared a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he would be visiting Philadelphia on Saturday for Sneaker Con and will then head to a campaign rally in Michigan.

"Looking forward to being at Sneakercon at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Pennsylvania, at 3 P.M. ET on Saturday. Then leaving for a Big Rally in Michigan!" the former president wrote.

Sneaker Con, known for being one of the longest-running sneaker events in the world, provides attendees the opportunity to buy, sell and trade rare and highly coveted sneakers.

What We Know:

Trump, the current GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, briefly took the stage at Sneaker Con on Saturday to announce the launch of custom limited edition Trump sneakers named the "Never Surrender High Tops."

However, as the former president held the all-gold sneakers and began speaking to the crowd, he noticed a Trump supporter in tears and brought her up to the stage.

The Trump supporter began urging others to vote for Trump. Shortly after letting one of his supporters speak, the former president left the stage.

Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state for the 2024 presidential election. During the 2020 election, President Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump in the state 50 percent to 48.8 percent. Meanwhile, during the 2016 election, Trump defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with 48.2 percent to 47.5 percent.

This comes as Biden and Trump are continuing to campaign around the country as they both are likely to face each other in a rerun of the tumultuous 2020 presidential election.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.

Views:

Since the announcement of his sneaker brand, the Biden-Harris campaign released a statement taking aim at Trump over his appearance at the event.

"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," Biden-Harris communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement.

While on stage at Sneaker Con, Trump made an appeal to younger voters and said, "It's very important, what's the most important thing? To go out and vote, we have got to go out and vote. We've got to get young people out to vote, and you're going to vote and we're going to turn this thing around...and we're going to remember the young people, and we're going to remember Sneaker Con."

What's Next?

The former president is expected to appear at a campaign rally in Michigan, another crucial swing state, later on Saturday.

Update 2/17/24, 4:19 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information

Update 2/17/24, 4:36 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information