Whatever happened to the Trump Phone?
There's still no phone although Trump Mobile is offering a bring-your-own-phone wireless plan
It was going to be beautiful — the gold-plated, made-in-the-USA Trump phone. Announced with much fanfare by the Trump Organization in June 2025, the “T1” model phone sort of looked like the iPhone in its publicity photos although it later morphed into something looking more like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
No one really knows, since no one’s seen one yet, as far as we know. Nevertheless, the Trump Organization began soliciting — and accepting — $100 deposits from eager customers.
While they wait, Trump’s company is selling them refurbished iPhones, made mostly in China, and Samsung devices, made in Korea. But patriots need not worry; Trump promises the substitutes are “brought to life right here in the USA.”
There’s been skepticism since the beginning about the Trump claims that the T1 would be made in the USA, which is hardly a center of smartphone manufacturing. Critics said it would be nearly impossible to gin up a manufacturing operation in just a few months. The company has at various times blamed “production issues” and FCC certification delays, perhaps aggravated by the federal government shutdown, and now promises delivery “later this year.”
There’ve been vague claims from social media that Trump Mobile has 590,000 preorders (at $100 each) but the company hasn’t verified that.
To keep what little momentum its has going, the Trump group is selling a wireless service plan, “The 47 Plan” (named for the, ahem, 47th and 45th president). It goes for $47.45 per month and is basically a rebranded feed provided by a major carrier.
Congress calling
Collecting money for something that doesn’t exist can be seen as troublesome and, sure enough, Congress is taking an interest in Trump Mobile.
A group of lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether there have been any violations of its regulations, including deceptive marketing and failure to deliver products customers have paid for. So far, no public response from the FTC.
“Our review of publicly reported information about the advertising and sale of the phone reveals a pattern of potentially deceptive practices that warrant FTC investigation,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the commission. “The FTC is responsible for ensuring that companies like Trump Mobile do not make false or misleading claims when marketing products.”
The FTC has previously taken action against companies for false “Made in the USA” claims, misleading representations about product features and origins, bait-and-switch tactics involving deposits for products never delivered, and failure to honor promised delivery dates.
The Congress members asked the agency to address, by February 14, 2026, whether the Trump Mobile issues to date constitute deceptive practices and whether agency personnel have communicated with President Trump, the Trump Organization, or Trump Mobile at all about the T1 phone. In addition, the lawmakers asked the FTC to explain how it would respond to attempts from the Trump White House to interfere with the agency’s actions.