Those $399 Gold Trump Sneakers Are About a Lot More Than Shoes
New York TimesFeb 19
Trump Launches $400 Sneaker Line
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The Facts
Former US Pres. Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., on Saturday, during which he unveiled the limited edition "Never Surrender high-tops" for $399 per pair.
The website selling the shoes, which the Trump campaign says is not connected to them, also posted Victory47 cologne and perfume for $99 per bottle — a reference to Trump becoming the 47th president if he were to win reelection.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Proven by the licensing address of this shoe manufacturer being the same as one of his golf resorts, Donald Trump is tied financially to the sale of these shoes. However, despite his efforts to pretend that this isn't a scheme to bring in income after losing yet another multi-million-dollar lawsuit, the only result of this cynical stunt is the continued trivialization of his legal losses.
Pro-Trump narrative
Donald Trump has never lost his supporters because he does what old-fashioned Republicans would never do — not give up. As Democrats seek to win by trying to put their primary political opponent in jail, Trump continues to meet regular Americans where they are and provide to them about what they care about. Donald Trump isn't the one trivializing the weaponized justice system — he's the one poking fun at its institutional rot.
Nerd narrative
There’s a 51% chance that Trump would win a 2024 presidential election matchup with Biden, according to the Metaculus prediction community.