Donald Trump launches line of gold sneakers after $US350m fine

Donald Trump has made a surprise appearance at Sneaker Con where he launched his “Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker”.

Donald Trump appears to be seeking other income streams.

The former US president is now selling sneakers, presumably to make a dent in the half a billion dollar in judgments against him.

Mr Trump announced the sneaker line, the “Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker” with a price tag of $US399 ($A610).

The shoes are gold and emblazoned with the US flag, a “T” and a “45.

Mr Trump made the announcement and showed off the shoes at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.

“I just want to tell you, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Mr Trump said when unveiling the sneaker line.

“I have some incredible people that work with me on things, and they came up with this, and this is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s gonna be a big success,” he said.

Donald Trump introducing his new line of signature shoes at Sneaker Con. Picture: AFP

Only 1000 pairs of the limited edition gold shoes are available, per the sneaker website, with some “randomly autographed by Trump,” according to the website.

Mr Trump also launched the “T – Red Wave” sneaker and the “POTUS 45,” both priced at US$US199 ($A305).

The products are “registered trademarks and/or trademarks of CIC Ventures LLC,” per the website.

“Trump Sneakers are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals,” it notes.

“45Footwear, LLC uses the Trump name, image and likeness under a license agreement.”

Only 1000 pairs of the limited edition gold shoes are available. Picture: AFP

It comes as Trump has suffered a crushing defeat in his civil fraud case, copping fines totalling more than $US350m ($A536m) and a three-year ban from running the real estate empire that propelled him to fame and the White House.

The penalties – which the former president will appeal – were handed down by New York judge Arthur Engoron on Friday after he found Mr Trump fraudulently inflated his wealth to obtain better deals from banks and insurance companies.

Mr Trump’s sons have also been barred from running any businesses in the state for two years, taking their conglomerate out of the family’s hands while an independent monitor is installed to prevent any further fraud.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump holds a pair of his new line of signature shoes. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

The decision is the latest bombshell in an unprecedented legal saga that has engulfed Mr Trump’s bid to return to power at this year’s presidential election.

Despite four criminal cases totalling 91 charges, plus another $US83m ($A127m) penalty for defaming a woman he sexually assaulted, the former president is set to be confirmed within weeks as the Republican nominee for a rematch with President Joe Biden in November.

In a series of social media posts, Mr Trump lashed out at the “crooked” judge and his “illegal, un-American judgement against me, my family and my tremendous business”.

Former US President Donald Trump attends the third day of his civil fraud trial in New York. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump appeared in the Manhattan courtroom throughout the extraordinary trial, sparring with Mr Engoron and arguing the case was a partisan abuse of the justice system. He and his legal team argued that he never defaulted on his loans and that the banks never complained about their dealings with the celebrity real estate mogul.

But the judge upheld the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who initially sought a $US250m ($A383m) penalty before ratcheting that up to $US370m ($567m) under laws used to target corporate giants without showcasing any victims of their fraudulent actions.

Mr Engoron, in a scathing verdict, said the lack of remorse and contrition from the former president and his business partners “borders on pathological”.

“They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again,” he wrote.

“This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff,” Mr Engoron added, referring to the mastermind of the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. Picture: AFP

“Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.”

Key evidence against Mr Trump included his claim that his Trump Tower triplex apartment covered 30,000 square feet when it was in fact 10,996 square feet, leading to an overvaluation of more than $US200m ($A306m), and that his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was worth up to $US612m ($A937m) rather than $US18-27m ($A28m-$A41m) as appraised by the county assessor.

His lawyer Alina Habba vowed to appeal the decision, saying it was a “manifest injustice” and “the culmination of a multi-year, politically fuelled witch hunt”.

The former president and his business will have to come up with the money or secure a bond to pay the fines – worth more than $A535m – within 30 days.

While Mr Trump has long bragged of being a billionaire, much of his wealth is tied up in real estate and he testified last year that he had more than $US400m ($A613m) in cash, meaning the penalties could almost clean out his accounts.

Originally published as Donald Trump launches line of gold sneakers after $US350m fine