Trump launches sneaker line

If
anyone
was
waiting
for
the
other
shoe
to
drop
in
the
upcoming
presidential
race,
former
President
Donald
Trump
just
did,
launching
his
own
line
of
tennis
shoes
on
Saturday.

“I’ve
wanted
to
do
this
for
a
long
time,”
Trump
said
when
he
announced
the
launch
of
a
sneaker
line
at
Sneaker
Con
in
Philadelphia.

“I
have
some
incredible
people
that
work
with
me
on
things
and
they
came
up
with
this
…
and
I
think
it’s
gonna
be
a
big
success,”
he
added.

In
his
brief
remarks
at
the
sneaker
launch,
Trump
indicated
the
line
could
be
an
effort
to
reach
out
to
younger
supporters,
saying,
“We’re
going
to
turn
this
country
around
fast.
We’re
going
to
turn
it
around.
And
we’re
going
to
remember
the
young
people,
and
we’re
going
to
remember
Sneaker
Con.” 

He
was
met
with
a
mostly
enthusiastic
crowd,
though
some
occasional
boos
permeated
through
the
cheers.

The
line,
called
Trump
Sneakers,
is
available
for
preorder
online.

It
features
three
different
pairs
of
tennis
shoes:
a
pair
of
high
tops,
a
pair
of
red
laceless
athletic
shoes
and
a
pair
of
white
laceless
athletic
shoes.

The
high
tops,
which
are
gold
and
emblazoned
with
a
“T”
on
the
outside
of
each
shoe,
are
called
the
“Never
Surrender
High
Top
Sneaker”
and
are
priced
at
$399
online.
The
athletic
shoes,
which
feature
a
“T”
and
the
number
45
on
the
sides
are
priced
at
$199.

The
website
selling
the
sneakers
also
features
a
“Victory47”
perfume
and
cologne
for
sale
at
$99
each.

The
sneakers,
perfume
and
cologne
sales
have
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
the
sneakers.

President
Joe
Biden’s
re-election
campaign
mocked
the
sneaker
launch,
with
communications
director
Michael
Tyler
saying,
“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.”

This
isn’t
Trump’s
first
time
licensing
his
name,
image
and
likeness
to
sell
products.
In
2022
and
2023,
he struck
a
licensing
agreement
to
sell
NFT
trading
cards.
Those
cards
were
produced
and
sold
by
NFT
INT
LLC,
which
had
a
licensing
agreement
with
Trump
to
use
his
name
and
image.

Sneaker
Con,
the
venue
where
Trump
debuted
the
sneaker
collection,
is
an
event
that
started
in
2009
and
has
become
one
of
the
premiere
events
within
the
broader
sneaker
culture
that
has 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
“sneakerheads,”
which
is
slang
for
people
who
tend
to
rock
particularly
desirable
sneakers.
Rep.
Jared
Moskowitz,
D-Fla.,
reportedly
has
somewhere
in
the
neighborhood
of
150
pairs
of
collectible
sneakers. 

Sneakers
directly
associated
with
politicians
are
rare.
There
are
a
pair
of Nikes designed for
former
President
Barack
Obama,
but
only
a
couple
of
pairs
are
known
to
exist,
and
Under
Armour
made
a
pair
for
him
with
the
presidential
logo
that
Steph
Curry wore for
a
game.