The Trump family’s latest business venture is here, and it’s just as ridiculous as you’d expect: a Trump-branded cell phone service and smartphone line, complete with a MAGA price tag and a healthy dose of self-promotion.
Unveiled Monday by President Donald Trump’s eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, “Trump Mobile” will launch with a single plan—the “47 Plan”—for $47.45 a month, a not-so-subtle nod to Trump’s being the 45th and 47th president. The company claims that the service will run on a 5G network with coverage comparable to the big three—and, yes, it’ll work with existing phones.
But if you want to go full MAGA, the company is also pushing its own device: the $499 “T1 Phone” in a gold finish with an etched American flag.
According to the Trump Mobile press release, the T1 is a “sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States.” It runs Android 15 and is available to preorder now with a $100 deposit. Ship dates are inconsistent—either August or September, depending on where you look.
Eric said the device will be manufactured in the United States and that the company will operate a domestic call center as well. And the service won’t just include the basics, with Donald Jr. claiming that the $47 plan will offer “an entire package of products,” from telemedicine and roadside assistance to unlimited texting across 100 countries.
The launch, not coincidentally, is tied to the 10th anniversary of Trump’s infamous golden escalator ride, but it marks yet another example of the Trump family blurring the line between public office and private profit.
Similarly, the launch comes just weeks after Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Apple and other smartphone makers for not manufacturing in the United States. Now the Trump family is jumping into the same market, promising to do what he’s attacking others for not doing: build phones domestically.
“‘Trump Mobile’ is going to revolutionize cell phones, mobile calling,” Eric gushed to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “We’re going to do it better; we’re going to do it safer; we’re going to have more functionality, more features. And the coolest thing about all these ventures is we’re doing it right here in the United States.”
Of course, by sticking to licensing, the Trumps are limiting their risk. But selling a phone and service in a saturated market—outside their loyal base—won’t be easy.
The new venture adds to a long and growing list of Trump-branded products, including bibles, guitars, $TRUMP meme coin, and even a crypto-mining venture. Meanwhile, the Trump Organization is cutting multimillion-dollar real-estate deals across the Middle East and Asia. Reporters can barely keep up.
And voters seem tired of the side hustles. A May Civiqs poll for Daily Kos found that registered voters overwhelmingly rejected some of Trump’s more questionable ventures. For instance, 56% of respondents said it was unethical for him to offer a private dinner to supporters who invested in his $TRUMP cryptocurrency. Another 55% said it would be unethical for Trump to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar, which he said would temporarily serve as the new Air Force One.
Regarding the phone itself, details are still murky. The “Trump Mobile” product page shows what looks like a Photoshopped rendering of a gold phone with a “T1” logo, an American flag on the back, and “Make America Great Again” plastered on the front.
But that confusion is the least of it, considering Trump has fused the federal government with his family’s business interests—not a conflict of interest so much as a congruence of them. It’s not a sideshow. It’s the show.
That includes putting pressure on regulators. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees mobile carriers, has already opened investigations into media outlets disliked by Trump, and in some cases, outlets that he’s personally suing.
Meanwhile, Trump is leveraging the power of the presidency to reward allies, punish critics, and green light ventures that make him a profit—all while most Americans are feeling the squeeze.
Trump’s return to office has ushered in rising inflation and slower growth, driven by aggressive tariffs and trade threats. He’s slashed key social programs and laid off tens of thousands of federal workers, yet he somehow still finds time to hawk branded phones.
If anything, Trump Mobile makes one thing clear: The Trump family grift isn’t slowing down—it’s just getting more ambitious.