- The Trump Organization introduced the T1 phone with a strong emphasis on U.S. manufacturing
- Analysts questioned how that could be done given the lack of supply chain in the U.S. and the timeline cited for delivering the phone
- The language on the Trump Mobile site now says it’s “designed with American values in mind” rather than “Made in the USA”
The Trump Organization is no longer posting statements on its website about making the T1 smartphone in the United States after analysts questioned whether such a manufacturing feat was even possible.
Rather than touting the T1 phone as “built in the United States,” the site now says the upcoming device is “designed with American values in mind” and made with “American-Proud Design” and “with American hands behind every device.” The Verge previously reported on the changes.
The new language, vague as it may be, seems to more accurately describe the device. The U.S. doesn’t have the supply chain required to produce $500 smartphones without getting some components from China, leading some analysts to suspect the T1 could end up being a reconfigured version of a Chinese brand.
Trump Mobile didn’t respond to questions from Fierce. In a statement to CNBC, a Trump Mobile spokesperson said that “T1 phones are proudly being made in America” and that “speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.”
That said, a lot of people interpret the Trump Organization’s claims about “made in America” to be aspirational rather than happening in the here and now. Eric Trump seemed to confirm that notion when he appeared on the Benny Johnson podcast last week, saying “eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America.”
The timing of the device also appears to have shifted. Instead of giving a specific timeframe for the T1 launch – the organization previously said August or September – the website now says it will release the T1 phone “later this year.”
Who’s behind Trump Mobile
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump introduced the Trump Mobile service on June 16, the 10th anniversary of their father’s presidential campaign launch. Plans are priced at $47.45/month, a reference to President Trump’s first and second terms in office.
Trump Jr. said the wireless industry is one of the places they felt there was “lackluster performance” and they set out to change that. He introduced a team of executives with a combined 120 years of experience in the mobile industry, including Pat O’Brien, Eric Thomas and Don Hendrickson.
Fierce poked around but was unable to locate much information about these executives’ backgrounds, although O’Brien at the launch event noted that Hendrickson used to sell a lot of pagers. So, there’s that. They also described their new venture as putting America first, with, again, phones being built “here in the USA.” The Trump Mobile call center is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Trump Organization didn’t identify the carrier it’s using to provide its mobile service, although its Terms of Service point to Florida-based Liberty Wireless Mobile, which is believed to be a T-Mobile MVNO. Liberty Wireless didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The press release announcing Trump Mobile stated: “Working with all three major carriers, Trump Mobile is on the nation's largest 5G network, so customers will have a strong signal, coast to coast.” None of the Big 3 carriers Fierce reached out to responded to our queries.
The current website says: “Same coverage as the 3 nationwide phone service carriers,” which could be a nod to standard cross-carrier roaming agreements that all the carriers have, including T-Mobile.
Check out this vid
Lucky for us, someone went through the Trump Mobile phone service activation process to dig up some answers and shared his experience on social media.
If you haven’t seen this video by BestPhonePlans cell phone plan reviewer Stetson Doggett, it’s worth a look. As he explains in the video, he signed up for Trump Mobile “so you don’t have to.”
Among other things, he takes us through his attempts to find out the identity of the underlying carrier. At one point, he’s told by a customer service rep that “Trump Mobile is the wireless carrier.” Heh heh.
He also spotted a detail that we shamefully admit we missed. Under the FAQ portion of the website, Trump Mobile said its support team is “available 7 days a week from 8 am to 9 pm at CST Monday thru Friday.” Except that Monday through Friday is five days. Oh, well.
Suffice it to say he’s a lot more patient than yours truly. Spoiler alert: It appears that, as suspected, T-Mobile is the underlying carrier.