Former US president Donald Trump has launched his own-brand shoes at Sneaker Con – a convention for sneaker fans in Philadelphia – after a slapped him with a $354.9 million fine in a fraud case.
“You know I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things, and they came up with this,” he said at the launch of Trump-branded shoes on Saturday.
He received mixed responses upon his appearance as some booed at him while others cheered after he presented a pair of the gold-coloured shoes being sold online for $399, according to BBC News.
“And this is something I have been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s going to be a big success.”
The decision comes a day after a judge ordered him to pay nearly $355 million to New York state for lying about the values of his properties.
The former US president is widely expected to be the Republican candidate in the US presidential election.
“That’s the real deal. That’s the real deal,” Trump said as he showed the gold-coloured shoes to the crowd. The sneakers is named ‘President Trump’s Official Sneaker’ on the website and the shoe has colours and stars of the American flag with the letter “T” on the shoe’s tongue.
He encouraged voters to vote in the November election.
Meanwhile, The Hill reported that the wife of an investor has launched a GoFundMe to help fund Trump’s legal expenses in the fraud case.
As of Saturday night, the American for-profit crowdfunding platform had already raised over $185,000.
The online fundraiser was started by Elena Cardone, the wife of investor Grant Cardone.