Donald Trump Announces Surprising Stop After Civil Fraud Trial

Former President Donald Trump announced he will be stopping in Philadelphia to attend Sneaker Con on Saturday following the final ruling in his civil fraud trail in New York.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, in September 2022. Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the trial, found that Trump inflated his assets to get more favorable business loans. Late last year into early January, a trial was held to determine how much the former president and his associates would pay in damages.

On Friday, Engoron ruled that Trump will have to pay roughly $355 million in penalties. Trump, Weisselberg and McConney will also be barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in the state for three years. Donald Jr. and Eric Trump were ordered to each pay more than $4 million and were banned from doing business in the state for two years.

Trump, the current GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has maintained his innocence in the case and claimed it was politically motivated.

Trump's lawyer Christopher Kise said that the former president will appeal the judge's ruling, telling Newsweek on Friday that Trump "remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality."

Following the ruling, Trump shared a post on Truth Social that he'll 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.

Newsweek has reached out to Sneaker Con, the Philadelphia Convention Center and Trump's campaign via email for comment.

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.

Although it is unclear why Trump will be attending the sneaker event as organizers for the convention have not confirmed his attendance, 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. However, according to a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS and released on February 1, Trump has a 4-point lead over Biden, while YouGov recorded Trump ahead by 1 point in a poll of registered voters taken between January 24 and 30.

Meanwhile, a report last month by Moody's Analytics says Biden could win two extra Electoral College votes over Trump in 2024 compared with his overall score in the 2020 presidential election.

"President Biden is expected to win reelection but by a thin margin, and the election could easily flip with only small shifts in the economy's performance, his approval rating, voter turnout, and how well third-party candidates do," the report said. The report was based on economic performance and that it "hinges on our forecast for the strength of the economy between now and Election Day."

Meanwhile, Trump has taken to his Truth Social platform to share more than his upcoming appearances as Trump slammed the ruling in his civil fraud trial on Truth Social on Friday, writing: "A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of 'I will get Trump,' before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT."

However, James called the ruling "a massive victory" on X, formerly Twitter, adding that "No matter how big, how rich, or how powerful you are, no one is above the law. Not even Donald Trump."