On the heels of the financially devastating ruling against Donald Trump in his Manhattan civil fraud case, the former president wasted no time leaning into his next scheme: Selling $400 gold sneakers to his supporters.
While Trump was widely mocked for flagrantly fleecing his MAGA rubes, Fox News took a different approach. Predictably, the conservative network fawned all over Trump, but in a move no one saw coming, The Big Weekend Show co-host Raymond Arroyo took Trump’s sneaker game to a whole new sycophantic level by suggesting that it secured him the Black vote.
In a freakishly enthusiastic rant, Arroyo argued that Black people love sneakers, so therefore, they will throw their support behind Trump because he understands their “culture.” Arroyo’s wild screed is so unbelievable that we posted in its entirety because paraphrasing won’t do it justice, via Mediaite:
RAYMOND ARROYO: I was on social media last night. Very interesting as you see Black support eroding from Joe Biden. This is connecting with Black America because they love sneakers! They’re into sneakers. They love the- this is a big deal, certainly in the inner city. So when you have Trump roll out his sneaker line, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, this is cool.’ He’s reaching them on a level that defies and is above politics. The culture always trumps politics, and Trump understands culture like no politician I’ve ever seen.
TOMI LAHREN: Question for you on that point though: Will the people that are excited about the sneakers and excited about Donald Trump, will that translate into them going out and voting for Donald Trump?
ARROYO: Look, anyone willing to put 400 bucks down for a pair of sneakers, yeah! I think that’s commitment and love. It’s something. It’s affection.
LAHREN: I hope you’re right.
You can watch the segment below, and again, Arroyo’s weirdly jubilant delivery has to be seen to be believed:
#FoxNews says #trump new sneakers connect to #BlackVoter because we love #sneakers
. I thought this was fake until I heard it! pic.twitter.com/vpgII3XKin
— BMB Empower Network (@BmbEmpower) February 22, 2024
Needless to say, the reactions were flying on Twitter as people couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous (and racist) centerpiece of Arroya’s argument that Trump just locked down the Black vote by selling $400 gold sneakers.
You can see some of the reactions below:
Listen to this. They think Black people are so stupid that SNEAKERS will have us voting against our own interests.
THIS IS INSANE! https://t.co/lKSKJjpmiV
— 𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓴𝓲 𝓑𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼 (@NikkiBarnesFL) February 22, 2024
“They [Black people] are into sneakers. They love sneakers…” as photos of white hands holding the sneakers flash beside him. https://t.co/BZVSTLAIGg
— Read “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual” (@JBWasAGenius) February 22, 2024
You can’t make this shit up https://t.co/MHdp7YsvtQ
— colorfullstory (@colorfullstory) February 22, 2024
Utterly indistinguishable from what might have been a scene in some movie in the 2000s about a dystopian future where humankind has had its brains reduced to mush and is now ruled by malevolent clowns with rictus smiles and bad hair dye. https://t.co/LPwc5Iwycv
— Robert Barrett (@barrettrob) February 22, 2024
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) February 22, 2024
There are days I wonder how we got to this point as a nation and then I remember Fox News exists. https://t.co/LkgviplGuP
— Mad Hatter (@elrond50) February 22, 2024
Last time they thought Black people would slide on by because we liked Ice Cube. It’s never surprising hearing what they think of us, but it’s always disgusting https://t.co/F9TRJVFnm1
— Brandon Bradford (@BrandonLBradfor) February 22, 2024
Lol these fools actually said this! I don’t even pay $400 for Jordan’s. What I look like paying for those Capitol Attack 45s? #fakenews #Trump2024 https://t.co/FIP61I6qQR pic.twitter.com/9A9qTUnue1
— Rico Dupree Walker (@CoachRicoWalker) February 22, 2024
While some of you Black people struggle to cast your ballots, here’s what the conservatives think of you.
https://t.co/iNjWhM1c31
— It’s Me Ya’ll (@Datelinefam) February 22, 2024
If there’s one person who knows what black people everywhere think, it’s Pee-wee Herman’s racist estranged nephew https://t.co/xhQhNENW85
— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) February 22, 2024