Donald Trump’s image will soon be used to sell smartphones, the Trump Organization confirmed after unveiling a new wireless service, Trump Mobile, on Monday.
According to the press release, Trump Mobile’s “flagship” wireless plan will be “The 47 Plan,” which references Trump’s current term as the United States’ 47th president.
The Trump Organization says the plan offers an “unbeatable value”—costing $47.45 per month—and “transformational” cellular service. But the price seems to be on par with other major carriers’ “best phone plans,” according to a recent CNET roundup, and the service simply plugs into the 5G network through “all three major carriers,” the press release noted.
The main selling point, then, appears to be the Trump name, with the Trump Mobile website saying it’s “the only mobile service aligned with your values and built on reliability, freedom, and American pride.” CNBC noted that the Trump Organization’s “foray into telecommunications mainly comprises a licensing agreement” rather than representing some bold new offering in the market.
The Trump Mobile agreement is seemingly no different from other deals for Trump-branded products that raked in more than $8 million for the president last year, including watches, perfumes, a Bible, a memecoin, and a guitar. And it’s just as likely to be criticized as those deals, The Hill reported, by “those who see Trump’s family as excessively monetizing his time in office.”
Trump-branded smartphone will be made in the USA
Next on the product list is a Trump-branded “T1 Phone,” which would come just as Trump lobs criticism at Apple and threatens the tech giant with tariffs for failing to build its iPhones in the US. The Trump Organization’s press release seemed to take a shot at Apple, describing Trump’s competing product as “a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier.”
The T1 Phone is due out later this fall—it’s unclear exactly when, as the press release says August, but the website says September—but it can be preordered now for $499. That’s less than the cost of an iPhone 16, which costs $799 today but could cost at least 25 percent more if Apple pivots manufacturing to the US, analysts have suggested. There may be some issues, however, as 404 Media reported that its attempt to preorder the phone triggered a page load failure and charged its credit card the wrong amount.