Donald Trump booed by sneakerheads while unveiling “cheap looking” $400 sneakers

Former President Donald Trump was booed during his appearance at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on Saturday. At the event, Trump unveiled his personally branded $400 golden sneakers that gay journalist Anderson Cooper called “cheap looking.”

“Sneakerheads, you’re sneakerheads, right? Does everybody in the room consider themselves a sneakerhead?” Trump said during his brief five-minute speech at the event. Many people booed and chanted at him as he “struggled” to get through his speech, ABC News reported. On social media, one commenter wrote, “Sneaker con should be ashamed for uploading this,” and another wrote, “No sneaker there, just a con,” according to The Guardian.

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“This a slightly different audience than I’m used to, but I love this audience,” Trump said, before bringing a woman onstage who spoke about how much she loved Trump because he’s a “Christian family man.”

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Trump has been has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment by at least 25 women since the 1970s. Adult video performer Stormy Daniels alleged that Trump had an extramarital affair with her in 2006. He is also facing 91 criminal counts in four different regions. Nevertheless, Christian conservatives continue to claim that Trump and his presidency were “anointed by God.”

At the Sneaker Con event, Trump unveiled his official $400 “Never Surrender” sneakers, a laceless, shiny gold high-top shoe with a white sole featuring a modified U.S. flag with red stripes and five stars.

“This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years,” Trump said on Saturday. “And I think it’s gonna be a big success. Your influences have been very positive. They’ve been real influences and they love it and they love what we’ve done.”

The sales of the shoe do not benefit Trump’s presidential campaign, The Hill reported.

Berty Mandagie, a sneaker enthusiast from Seattle criticized Trump’s appearance at Sneaker Con, saying, “Trump has nothing to do with sneakers and sneaker culture consists of people of color who would not feel safe around someone like Trump and his followers. The fact that Sneaker Con turned out to be a Trump rally instead of a sneaker convention is wildly upsetting.”

As for the sneakers, Mandagie saidm “I think they’re tacky. They look spray-painted with a cheap gold color. The font of the ‘T’ is so basic. It looks like a knockoff shoe produced by Temu.”

He wasn’t the only one who disliked Trump’s sneakers.

“He’s talking about these at $399 a pop. He’s also selling cheaper sneakers,” out CNN anchorperson Anderson Cooper said in a recent broadcast, alluding to a $199 pair available in red and white colors.

“Not cheaper looking, of course,” Anderson added. “That would not be possible. Less expensive, I should say.”

Trump’s appearance at Sneaker Con came one day after a New York State judge fined Trump over $350 million for inflating his net worth to cheat bank lenders. Also last week, a New York judge set a trial date for Trump’s allegedly illegal hush money payment to Daniels so that she would keep their affair a secret while he ran for president in 2016.

Sneaker Con’s president, Alan Vinogradov, donated $743 to Trump’s re-election campaign in 2023, as well as $827 to the Trump Save America political action committee (PAC).