Opinion
The rapper Fat Joe is speaking out to defend himself for buying Donald Trump’s new sneaker despite not being a fan of the former president.
Fat Joe Buys Trump Sneaker
“Why? If you really collect art, do you really know what Basquiat was into?” Fat Joe, 53, asked in a video posted to social media. “Do you know what Andy Warhol was into? Any of these artists that you was into. You love the art, so you get it. I guess they separate art from the person.”
“Now, me as a sneaker collector,” he continued. “I had to get my hands on the Trumps. Doesn’t matter…Listen, I have thousands of pairs of sneakers. When everyone flipped on Kanye, I went and bought the two most exclusive Kanyes ever…I gotta get my hands on them.”
“Once again, I’m not a Trumper. I dislike Trump. I’m not voting for him. Not now, not never,” Fat Joe concluded. “But I’m a sneaker collector into the art. So, I had to find these.”
Related: Lebron James Takes Shot at Trump With ‘Equality’ Sneakers
Trump Debuts New Sneaker
This came after Trump debuted his new Never Surrender sneaker, which retails for $399, at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on February 17.
“A lot of emotion. There’s a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said as he took the stage at this event, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. “They have lines going all around the block. They’ve never seen anything like this one.”
“I just want to tell you, you know, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things and they came up with this,” Trump continued. “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years and I think it’s going to be a big success.”
Trump went on to say that “influencers” have been “very positive” about the new sneakers, which are gold high-tops that prominently feature both the letter “T” and American flags.
“They love it, and they love what we’ve done,” Trump said as he showed off the shoes to the crowd. “That’s the real deal.”
After calling on the audience to vote, Trump promised that he will “turn this country around fast” as the crowd began to chant “USA, USA, USA!”
Liberals were of course livid that Trump was allowed to speak at Sneaker Con, and event organizers were soon forced to issue a statement to defend themselves.
“Sneaker Con’s mission is to support and promote sneaker culture through our worldwide live events and digital platforms,” they said. “We are thankful and appreciative of the sneaker community, and recognize individuals who generate awareness and authentic sneaker related engagement towards our community. #sneakercon.”
Related: Sneaker Company Reebok Attacked Donald Trump Over Comments About French President’s Wife
Fat Joe’s Anti-Trump Views
Despite purchasing Trump’s sneaker, Fat Joe has always been an outspoken critic of the former president.
“Donald Trump, you already know,” Fat Joe told MSNBC when Trump was running for president in 2016. “We can’t have that guy in office.”
Fat Joe went on to admit that he’d initially liked Trump, but he soon changed his tune.
“What I do like about Donald Trump is that he’s not bought by the lobbyists,” he said. “He put up his own money, funded his own campaign. That means he’s nobody’s puppet.”
“I would have liked him if he hadn’t disrespected Latinos and disrespected black people,” he added. “I wish we had more diversity. I’m not sold on any one politician right now.”
Four years later, Fat Joe campaigned against Trump, and he even went on MSNBC to sing him goodbye after the 2020 election.
It’s easy to see why many were so shocked that Fat Joe would buy Trump’s shoe, but apparently he just couldn’t resist! While Fat Joe is at it, here’s hoping he reconsiders his stance on Trump’s politics as we head into this year’s presidential election.
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