In a bold new move, the Trump Organisation has officially entered the mobile communications market with the announcement of Trump Mobile, a service that offers both a new smartphone called the T1 and a mobile subscription plan called “The 47 Plan.” The announcement, made from Trump Tower in Manhattan, brings together technology, political branding, and business licensing under one umbrella. It is another example of how former President Donald Trump and his family are expanding their commercial interests during his second term in the White House.
Trump Mobile introduces a $499 smartphone and a $47.45-per-month subscription plan. According to the Trump Mobile website, the T1 smartphone features an etched American flag on a gold-colored case and comes equipped with high-end specifications like a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 50-megapixel main camera, and a 16-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone operates on Android 15 and is promoted as being designed and built in the United States. However, some doubts remain about the full extent of domestic manufacturing. Eric Trump recently suggested that while the phones might not initially be made entirely in the U.S., the aim is to shift production domestically in the future.
The monthly mobile plan, called The 47 Plan, is named in reference to Trump’s status as the 47th president of the United States. The plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data, along with additional benefits such as roadside assistance and telehealth services. The number 47 also appears in the pricing of $47.45, referencing Trump’s current presidency as the 47th commander-in-chief, while nodding to his previous position as the 45th.
One of the primary selling points of Trump Mobile is its promise of American infrastructure. The service claims to have U.S.-based customer support centres and the aspiration to produce its phones domestically. However, at this stage, there are still questions about the logistics of manufacturing a mid-range smartphone completely within the United States. The broader smartphone market remains heavily dependent on overseas production, with most devices assembled in countries such as China, Vietnam, South Korea, and India. At present, there are very few companies that manufacture smartphones entirely in the United States, and they tend to serve niche markets at much higher price points than the T1’s announced cost.
While the marketing emphasises the phone being built in America, sceptics have labelled the idea as unrealistic. The pricing and specifications of the T1 do not align with the known costs of producing a comparable smartphone within the U.S. Labour costs, access to rare earth materials, and global supply chains make American manufacturing a challenge. The announcement did not name the actual manufacturer or explain the specifics of the production process. This has led some to refer to the phone as “vaporware”—a term used for products that are announced with great fanfare but often fail to deliver on their promises.
The Trump Organisation has not been directly involved in the engineering, manufacturing, or distribution of either the T1 phone or the mobile plan. As indicated in the fine print on the Trump Mobile website, the product and service are operated under a licensing arrangement. In this model, the Trump name is lent to the venture in exchange for financial gain, while the actual operations are managed by external partners. T1 Mobile LLC, the firm responsible for the phone and service, was registered in Florida in April 2025. Little is known about its structure or the identities of the companies involved in development and logistics. Attorney Stuart Kaplan, listed as the registered agent, has not provided any additional details to the press.
Donald Trump’s children, especially Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have taken the lead in publicly promoting the mobile venture. During interviews and public appearances, they emphasised that Trump Mobile will serve patriotic customers and those loyal to the Trump brand. Donald Jr. stated that subscribers would not only get access to unlimited talk and data but also benefit from services like telemedicine and roadside assistance, all bundled under one affordable plan.
Still, when compared with other mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the U.S., Trump Mobile’s pricing appears high. Mint Mobile offers a 12-month unlimited plan at $30 per month, while Verizon’s Visible service provides a $25 monthly plan that includes unlimited talk, text, and data along with a mobile hotspot. The Trump Mobile service, which is priced nearly twice as high, includes features such as a Telehealth and Pharmacy Benefit, yet it is unclear how competitive or effective those offerings will be when the service launches.
MVNOs like Trump Mobile do not own their own network infrastructure. Instead, they lease capacity from the major U.S. carriers — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — and then sell it under their own branding. The Trump Mobile site states that it offers the “same coverage as the 3 nationwide phone service carriers,” which implies it functions in this model. However, these types of ventures have faced challenges in the past. Customer turnover tends to be high, profit margins can be thin, and few celebrity-backed MVNOs have ever crossed the threshold of reaching a million subscribers. Market analysts believe that unless Trump Mobile can attract a large base of loyal users, its long-term impact will be limited.
The smartphone itself is being marketed as a patriotic symbol as much as a device. Promotional images show the phone emblazoned with an American flag and stamped with the Trump brand, alongside the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” It is clearly designed to appeal to Trump’s political supporters, much like other branded products the Trump Organisation has promoted in recent years, including Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers, cologne, and even NFTs.
The launch also follows a broader trend in which the Trump family has capitalised on Donald Trump’s political prominence to create new income streams. Licensing agreements have proven to be particularly profitable. According to the president’s latest financial disclosure, he earned over $8 million in 2024 from licensing arrangements alone. Those deals span various sectors, from crypto tokens to consumer products, showing how the Trump name continues to generate revenue despite concerns about ethics and political propriety.
Critics have long expressed concern over the ethical implications of Trump’s business ventures while in office. The intertwining of politics and personal profit has raised alarms among legal scholars and ethics watchdogs. Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig commented that Trump appears to be using the presidency as a means to grow his family’s wealth, with little distinction between his role as a public servant and his commercial interests.
The Trump Organisation has experienced both success and failure in its various business endeavours over the years. Previous licensed products such as Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, and Trump University eventually failed, while other ventures like golf clubs and luxury real estate have remained lucrative. Whether Trump Mobile becomes a lasting part of the Trump business empire or ends up as another short-lived experiment remains to be seen.
