Trump stumps for youth vote turnout at brief SneakerCon appearance

Former President Donald Trump briefly showed up to Philadelphia’s annual sneaker convention, known as SneakerCon, stumping for young voters to support his election bid. 

Mr. Trump appeared onstage at the convention Saturday afternoon, with a pair of golden sneakers adorning his podium. The stop was en route to a “Get Out the Vote Rally” in Michigan, which is scheduled for later in the day. 

“It’s very important, what’s the most important thing? To go out and vote, we have got to go out and vote,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ve got to get young people out to vote, and you’re going to vote and we’re going to turn this thing around… and we’re going to remember the young people, and we’re going to remember SneakerCon.” 

Polling earlier this year showed that Mr. Trump, the likely favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination, has gained ground with young voters under the age of 35. 

A poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University in January found that Mr. Trump led among voters under 35 with 37% support compared to President Biden’s 33%.

Mr. Biden crushed Mr. Trump by 24-points in young voter support in 2020. Many of the president’s younger supporters have been frustrated with his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, particularly over the increasing civilian death toll in Gaza. 

Mr. Trump’s appearance at the annual convention where “sneakerheads” buy, sell and trade shoes marks his second event in Pennsylvania this month, which is a critical battleground state in his likely rematch with Mr. Biden. 

The ex-president planted a flag in the Keystone State last week during an address to thousands of National Rifle Association members where he railed against Mr. Biden’s tenure in office, and vowed to overhaul the Department of Justice. 

Losing Pennsylvania would be an embarrassment and devastating to Mr. Biden’s reelection bid, and he has made the state a focal point of the race. Polls still show Mr. Biden with a slight advantage over Mr. Trump.