As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, hawking new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”
Trump was met with loud boos as well as cheers at the Philadelphia Convention Center as he introduced what he called the first official Trump footwear.
The shoes, gold lame high tops with an American flag detail on the back, are being sold as “Never Surrender High-Tops” for $399 on a new website that also sells Trump-branded “Victory47” cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle. He’d be the 47th president if elected again.
…
Biden-Harris 2024 Communications Director Michael Tyler slammed the appearance, 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.”
Heres how this grift works, its become quite common and started with books. Once you know it you will see it all the time.
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Politician writes book = politicians pr firm hires ghost writer to write book.
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Politician says one controversial/spicy/tell all thing in book
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Politician goes on all news shows to promote book/super spicy new hot take
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Politicians PAC/dark money donor/political party/putin buys up millions of copy of said book injecting millions into campaign not subject to campaign finance laws that can be spent without regard to laws or limits because its “income”.
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This massive buy immediately puts book on best seller list while books sit in warehouse.
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Books in warehouse legitimately sold/given away at campaign events or give as " FREE" copy if you donate X amount today.
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Politician gets to be on all cable news shows, gets a massive injection of untraceable cash that isnt subject to campaign finance law, and now is a new york times best selling author. Win, win, win.
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Its just money laundering
Trumps shoes? Same as his super hero cards. Its a way to launder in untraceable money from putin, perhaps folks he sold nuclear secrets to, and god knows who else. If it doesnt seem to make sense that all of the sudden trump is selling sneakers its because it doesnt. Hes laundering dark money in full view of the public.
This message brought to you by Citizens United
You would think by now AML investigators from every corner of the globe would be watching this guy’s accounts like a hawk with a microscope.
I know that sometimes tracing cashflow is a delicate art, but it can definitely be done, especially if you are working with government-level resources
I don’t think this type of scheme is even illegal which is the main problem.
There are indeed many forms of money laundering which are considered illegal in America, and it is absolutely illegal if someone is accepting funds derived from illicit activity or sanctioned entities (like Russia). The government and most financial institutions generally take the stance that there are very few good reasons to obscure the ultimate source of funds, and so tend to be very risk-averse with such activity.
The trick is in confirming anything illicit is going on when there are potentially dozens of steps and borders in between the source and the recipient.
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What the fuck is any politician doing at a convention for sneakers? If I was at this Sneaker Con, I’d be pretty pissed that this was where my admissions money was going since I paid for a fucking sneaker convention. Just because he brought a sneaker line to a sneaker convention doesn’t mean he should be let in.
And this is fucking rich considering all of the names around the extremely lazy and uncreative (as we’ve come to expect from Trump) product:
The website states the new venture “is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign.”
That disclaimer goes further, saying it has no connection to Trump or his businesses, and that they simply licensed his image.
Which, given his direct promotion of the product, appears to be simply one more of the lies we’ve come to expect with anything to do with Trump.
Lots of voters there, why not?
Yes, I know that’s why Trump wanted to be there.
Why should the convention have agreed?
Because the convention organizers make money from every person who walks in the door and they prob don’t care about politics.
Hence my saying-
If I was at this Sneaker Con, I’d be pretty pissed that this was where my admissions money was going since I paid for a fucking sneaker convention.
It would sure as hell make me less likely to walk in the door the next time the convention happens and if I didn’t know he was going to be there, I would have demanded a refund.
Maybe they shouldn’t assume all the people who went there were excited to see a rapist traitor who says he wants to be a dictator. Considering he was booed, that seems like something they should have considered.
There were a number of voices in the crowd booing him during his “presentation”.
It’s the same reason you see army recruitment at comic cons, they want to grab young, and impressionable people
He must have taken “Sneaker Con” literally.
He gets confused a lot…
Don’t you mean “CON-fused”?
That was bad and I feel bad.
Oh, please…CON-trol yourself! Don’t CON-cern yourself with his fragile little snowflake CON-servative feelings. CON-tinue on.
CON-gratultions on a well written post.
Maybe you’ll feel better in the long run now that you’ve gotten that out of you.
Well, he could host his own event, “Trump Con”, but the name would be redundant.
Biden-Harris 2024 Communications Director Michael Tyler slammed the appearance, 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.”
Rekt
WI have completely lost the ability to distinguish satire from reality. I’m assuming this is real but damn if we don’t live in the worst timeline.
Hell. We’re all dead, and this is Hell.
Uh so what did the kids do?
Depending on the denomination, dying as a kid when you don’t accept Jesus as your savior is sufficient for damnation.
What about most of the rest of the world who believe in other stupid religions?
I’m not sure I understand the question.
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I don’t know. Everyone talks about worst timeline…but what about worse scenarios? Like, don’t jinx the rest of us, dude!
We are living in a simulation that has gone off the rails and the admins have stopped the auto-rollback several times because they can’t stop laughing.
You guys understand that these are for laundering money to his defense funds, right? Nobody actually buys these.
Instead, his illicit contacts in Russia and other extremist groups, will buy a fuck ton and let them rot just to feed money into his pocket ‘legally’
It’s very obvious. Also surreal.
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They will be available for pre-order and they will take your money and you will never receive the shoe. I’m calling it.
Of course. Why pay the $3.50 to actually produce it? The people who buy this garbage clearly don’t mind being fleeced
Once a con man always a con man. I don’t feel bad for the people who worship him and lose their money.
They won’t produce it, and it will still somehow be all made in China
When I heard of Trump branded shoes, I thought “what are they like gold and tacky?”
Yes, because of course they are.
I just want to know where they are made.
I assume in China where all of his other stuff is made. MAGA people don’t notice or if they do, they don’t care, because it’s okay when he does it.
And if non-white children are making it, that’s a bonus.
I swear to god….
What the fuck is even happening anymore.
Money laundering.
Although it would be nice to think he’s so fucking broke his only option is to sell lame shoes.
Cultism, fear of the unknown other, and a constant state of seething anger to keep them from feeling the existential dread that has been creeping up all over the world the last 2 decades.
Will this be used for money laundering?
To donate to a presidential campaign, you must be a US citizen, and there’s a $3,300 cap. Anyone can buy sneakers, though, and they can buy as many as they want.
and they can buy as many as they want.
Thw website says they’re sold out…
Like with the ghostwritten books where the RNC buys them up to give out as gifts?
No, never /s
Gonna paraphrase another shoe salesmen with this one:
“The shoe has a pliant heel with a cork filling whereas [Trump] is a giant seal with a pork filling”
That slanders both giant seals and pork fillings.
LII U.S. Code Title 4 CHAPTER 1 § 8Quick search by citation: Title Section 4 U.S. Code § 8 - Respect for flag
U.S. Code Notesprev | next No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
© The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way.
(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
It’s way too late to start telling these people about flag code. This got applause.
🤢
I think you mean 🤮
Unfortunately this is just a guideline for conduct within official institutions, and has no bite of real law. It’s predicated on respect, a word these people wouldn’t understand.
“Unfortunately”? Be careful, your wording makes it sound like you would rather people be legitimately punished for letting the flag touch the ground or disposing of it improperly.
I tried interpreting your comment in different ways and hope what you intended to say is that it’s unfortunate that he is the kind of crass person that would abuse this important freedom.
But it’s important for us to make a distinction between those that exercise a freedom and those that abuse a freedom. We should be free to criticize or ridicule those in the latter group for the same reason that they are free to abuse it.
I only mean unfortunately in that there is seemingly no incentive for those people to show proper respect for a flag that they claim to worship. The code is just a kind of etiquette, which is only reinforced through a kind of peer pressure, and the people who actually respect what it stands for have no real way of shaming those who wear it on their underwear – because they just don’t care.
Fascinating read. I think of how many advertisements have the American flag flying in there and how many tshirts and whatnots have it.
He should take up selling shoes full time instead of doing what he’s been doing.
Oh my days! Now I have the image of a MAGA crowd all wearing these monstrosities.
