President Donald Trump’s business organization has announced the creation of a new wireless phone service that will carry the president’s name.
Trump Mobile, as the service will be known, will soon be available for what Donald Trump Jr. described as “real Americans” seeking “true value from their mobile carriers.” The eldest of Trump’s children, who serves as executive vice president of the Trump Organization, which runs the president’s businesses, made the remarks at a press event in New York City on Monday morning alongside his brother Eric Trump, who also oversees the Trump Organization.
According to the TrumpMobile.com website, the plan starts at $47.45 a month, reference to the elder Trump having served as the 45th and 47th president.
By comparison, Boost Mobile and Verizon’s Visible offer similar unlimited service for $25 per month. T-Mobile and Spectrum offer unlimited plans for $30.
Users can change to Trump Wireless while still keeping their existing phones. At the same time, the Trump Organization is also rolling out a $499 gold-colored phone, dubbed the T1, later this year as part of the service’s launch.
The announcement represents another example of the unprecedented line-blurring the president has undertaken by running the country while his branded business ventures continue to operate and make millions.
Late Friday, the president filed financial disclosure forms for 2024 showing hundreds of Trump-branded business ventures in operation as of last year. The Trump Organization, the main corporate entity run by the president’s family, earned more than $57 million from sales of digital tokens launched by its World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency platform. Trump has aggressively wielded the powers of the executive office to threaten businesses whose policies he does not support.
The launch of a wireless phone is a particularly striking case, since it comes as the president seeks to bring more production of electronics, including smartphones, to the United States. Trump has explicitly threatened Apple with tariffs for not making its iPhones stateside. Trump has sought to exert a strong influence over the heavily regulated telecom industry through Brendan Carr, the attorney Trump appointed to lead the Federal Communications Commission. Carr has cited traditional carriers for allegedly abusing workforce diversity requirements and censoring conservative voices.
The White House referred a request for comment to the Trump Organization. It did not respond to a follow-up query asking whether the president planned to use his own branded wireless service or the T1 phone.
According to its website, Trump Mobile is “powered” by Liberty Mobile Wireless. Florida state business records indicate Liberty Mobile was first registered in 2018 by its president and CEO, a Miami-area entrepreneur named Matthew Lopatin. He did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Representatives for the three major U.S. phone carriers did not respond to requests for comment.
According to its website, Trump Mobile users would be able to receive telemedicine on their phone, roadside assistance and unlimited texting to at least 100 countries.
The service and phone are not actually made by the Trump Organization. The company is licensing the president’s name to a wireless service that is supported by the three major U.S. phone carriers. In a separate appearance with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo’s “Mornings with Maria” show Monday, Eric Trump said the phones would also be made in the U.S. but did not state the manufacturer. He also said the service’s call center would be based in St. Louis.
The announcement appears to echo one made earlier this month by the trio of actor-hosts of the popular “SmartLess” podcast, who said they were launching their own wireless service by purchasing network capacity from T-Mobile.
Another actor, Ryan Reynolds, has invested in Mint Mobile, which also uses T-Mobile’s network. Both Mint and SmartLess have been pitched as value services for users who don’t have need for unlimited data.
