Former President Donald Trump was met with loud boos as he promoted $399 sneakers at a convention a day after being ordered to pay $355 million in penalties in his New York civil fraud trial.
Trump briefly took the stage at "Sneaker Con" on Saturday—which bills itself as the "The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth"—to launch custom, Trump-branded sneakers.
Videos show he received loud boos when appearing onstage at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
Other clips showed people cheering Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, as he introduced the shiny gold high tops with an American flag detail on the back.
"Wow, lot of emotion. There's a lot of emotion in this room," Trump said of the reaction, according to clips posted on social media.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told Newsweek on Sunday that Trump "wasn't booed." the former president "had a hero's welcome because everybody knows Crooked Joe Biden is done," he said.
The launch came after Judge Arthur Engoron in New York on Friday ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties in the costliest consequence of his recent legal troubles. In January, he was ordered to pay an additional $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, adding to a $5-million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in a case brought by Carroll.
Engoron's decision after a trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit punishes Trump, his company and executives for scheming to dupe banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements. Trump was also barred from doing business in New York for three years.
Trump getting booed at Sneaker Con while trying to sell Trump Shoes for $399.00. pic.twitter.com/ieMjb7FCVp
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 17, 2024
The shoes—called the "Never Surrender High-Tops"—are listed for $399 on a new website that sells other Trump-branded shoes, as well as cologne and perfume.
The sneakers are described as limited-edition, numbered and "a true collector's item."
"Bold, gold, and tough, just like President Trump. They're for the go-getters who don't know the word quit," the description says. "The Never Surrender sneakers are your rally cry in shoe form. Lace-up and step out ready to conquer."
By early Sunday, the website said the shoes were sold out.
The new sneaker website says it is run by CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure, The Associated Press reported.
The website says the venture "is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign."
Onstage at Sneaker Con, Trump also made an appeal to younger voters as he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination.
"It's very important, what's the most important thing? To go out and vote, we have got to go out and vote," he said.
"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."
Update 2/18/2024, 9:03 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Steven Cheung.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
