His ear is still bandaged, the attempt on his life is still fresh in the nation’s mind, and the ardent supporter who was killed by a bullet meant for Donald J. Trump has yet to be laid to rest.
But it is not too soon for a company linked to the former president to try to make money off his brush with death.
High-top sneakers emblazoned with an image of Mr. Trump moments after he was shot, his face blood-streaked and his fist in the air, are now for sale for $299 on a website operated by 45Footwear. The company also produced the Trump-branded shoes that the former president hawked after a judge in New York ordered him to pay as much as $450 million in penalties and interest in a civil fraud case.
That company, about which little information is publicly available, uses the Trump name under a licensing agreement with CIC Ventures. Mr. Trump’s latest financial disclosure form, which he had to file as a candidate, lists him as the president, manager, secretary and treasurer of CIC Ventures.
“These limited edition high-tops, featuring Trump’s iconic image with his fist raised, honor his unwavering determination and bravery,” the product website states.
The sneakers went on sale as early as Monday, two days after the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., according to archived pages of the website. A 50-year-old man, a father of two, was killed by the shooter, who was armed with a semiautomatic rifle. Mr. Trump’s left ear was clipped by a bullet and two other men were injured.
The website says only 5,000 pairs of the shoes will be sold, each of them numbered and 10 of them autographed, the website said. The offer was reported earlier by The Associated Press. As of Wednesday night, they appeared to have sold out.
Mr. Trump has a long history of marketing his name and likeness. He has sold Trump-branded frozen steaks, vodka, deodorant, eyeglasses, perfumes, vitamins, shirts and mattresses. Last year, he used social media to promote the sale of thousands of digital cards showing him dressed, variously, as a cowboy, an astronaut and a superhero shooting laser beams from his eyes.
The sneakers, with a stylized flag emblem, also fit a recent pattern of associating Trump-branded products with patriotism. Mr. Trump sold $60 Bibles on his social media site, Truth Social, before Independence Day, saying, “Every Patriot should have one.”
Buying the sneakers shows “patriotic pride” and support for a man who “stood tall and resilient” in the face of danger, the website declares. It also offers “Never Surrender” low-tops, emblazoned with Mr. Trump’s signature on the tongue, for $199.
The 45Footwear website declares that the shoes are not being sold by Mr. Trump and that the sneaker-sales operation has “nothing to do with any political campaign.” Rather, it says it uses the Trump name under a license agreement with CIC Ventures.
But CIC Ventures is wholly owned by a trust in Mr. Trump’s name, according to his April 2023 financial disclosure form.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions about what role Mr. Trump played in bringing the sneakers to market and where any profits would go.
But scalpers beware. In a banner that proclaims “Welcome Republican National Convention,” the 45Footwear website warns that there is a “strict limit of three pairs per customer.”
The post A Fist Pump and a Flag: Trump Sneakers for Sale appeared first on New York Times.