There’s no such factor as dangerous press once you’re promoting limited-edition kicks. Manufacturers like MSCHF, with their deliberately meme-able takes on sneakers, know this in addition to anybody. It doesn’t matter if the shoe is ugly. If the headlines surrounding it hit, it’ll promote out. Former President Donald Trump took this sentiment to the following degree again in February, launching a collection of signature sneakers on the Philadelphia cease of SneakerCon. The response each in-person and on-line was…blended at finest, however the footwear virtually flew off of the web site the place individuals might purchase them. They instantly grew to become the type of vaguely cursed collector’s merchandise that transcended politics, with one pair reselling on eBay for $9,000. Crucially, these footwear launched only a day after Trump misplaced a civil fraud case in New York Metropolis and was ordered to pay $450 million in damages.
Trump’s newest sneaker (three phrases I can’t imagine I simply typed) makes use of the identical ethos: flip press into revenue. Simply days after a failed assassination try on the previous president on July 13, Trump has launched his newest sneakers: the FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT Excessive Tops. That includes an analogous form and building because the Nike Blazer or Vans Sk8-Hello, the white FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT silhouette is emblazoned with an American Flag print across the ankle cuff and a gold tongue tab. Extra notably although, the shoe’s higher shows a now-infamous picture of Trump moments after the failed assassination try, anchored by the phrases FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. Whereas it’s removed from a Sneaker of the 12 months contender, the shoe accomplishes what it units out to: capitalizing on a second of controversy and leaning into polarizing political fandom to the tune of $1.5 million if (or quite when) the shoe sells out.
Just like the prior releases from Trump Sneakers, these footwear are clearly marketed as a collector’s merchandise quite than a pair of each day beaters. The brand new silhouette is proscribed to five,000 pairs, with some sizes already bought out simply hours after the launch. On high of that, a random 10 pairs might be signed by President Trump, solely including to the fervor surrounding the drop. Reporters have famous that within the days because the assassination try, “memorabilia” from the Butler, PA rally at which it passed off has been surging on eBay, with every little thing from parking passes to counterfeit ticket stubs fetching excessive worth tags. Certain sufficient, pairs of the FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT Excessive Tops are already listed on the location for hundreds of {dollars}–even if they aren’t even going to ship till September.
