If anyone was expecting the other shoe to drop in the upcoming presidential race, former President Donald Trump unveiled his tennis shoes on Saturday.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” Trump said as he announced the launch of his sneaker line at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.
“I’ve got some incredible people working with me on stuff, and they’ve found it … and I think it’s going to be a huge success,” he said.
In a brief speech at the sneaker launch, Trump hinted that the line could be an attempt to reach younger fans, saying: “We’re going to turn this country around fast. We will turn it around. We will remember the youth and we will remember Sneaker Con.”
He was greeted by a mostly enthusiastic crowd, although there were some heckles between the cheers.
Called “Trump Sneakers,” the line is available for pre-order online.
It features three different pairs of tennis shoes: a pair of high-tops, a pair of red slip-on sneakers, and a pair of white slip-on sneakers.
The high-tops, which are gold in color and feature the letter “T” on the outside of each shoe, are called the Never Surrender High Top Sneaker and are available online for $399. The sneakers with the letter “T” and the number 45 on the sides cost $199.
The website, which sells the sneakers, also offers “Victory47” perfume and cologne, which sell for $99 each.
The sale of sneakers, perfume and cologne has nothing to do with Trump’s presidential campaign or the Trump Organization. The former president’s name, image and likeness have been licensed to CIC Ventures LLC to sell sneakers.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign mocked the launch of the sneaker, with communications director Michael Tyler saying, “Donald Trump’s smuggling of the Off-Whites is the closest he’ll ever get to any Air Force One for the rest of his life.” .”
This isn’t the first time Trump has licensed his name, image and likeness to sell products. In 2022 and 2023, he NFT entered into a license agreement to sell trading cards. Those cards were produced and sold by NFT INT LLC, which signed a license agreement with Trump to use his name and image.
Sneaker Con, the venue where Trump debuted his sneaker collection, is an event that began in 2009 and has become one of the premiere events within the broader sneaker culture. exploded in recent decades.
With the rise of sneaker culture, signature shoes have moved beyond athletes to musicians, actors, and more. Some politicians are now thought of as “athletes,” which is slang for people who tend to rock particularly desirable sneakers. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., reportedly has 150 pairs of collectible sneakers at one location.
Sneakers directly associated with politicians are rare. I have a pair of Nikes designed for former President Barack Obama, but only a few pairs are known to exist, and Under Armor made a pair for him with the presidential logo featuring Steph Curry. was wearing for the game.