Trump Organization Unveils $499 Gold Phones For “Real Americans” Amid Apple Tariff Threats

The Trump Organization has launched a new phone service called Trump Mobile, offering a plan called the 47 Plan for $47.45 per month. 

The plan includes unlimited calls, texts, and data, and promises additional features like free international dialing, telehealth access, and roadside assistance. 

A gold-colored smartphone, called the T1 Phone, will be available in August for $499.

The Trump Organization has launched a gold smartphone called the T1 Phone with an unlimited plan

Image credits: The White House/ Flickr

The launch has raised ethical concerns, with experts calling it a “marketing ploy” to profit off of the presidential platform.

The move is also a direct challenge to Apple and Samsung, arriving at a time when the smartphone market is under pressure amidst threats of increased tariffs on China.

The announcement comes as part of the 10-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign. 

The phone plan is being called the “47 Plan,” referencing Trump’s position as the 47th president of the United States.

The Trump Organization has described it as a “new cellular service designed to deliver top-tier connectivity, unbeatable value and all-American service for our nation’s hardest-working people.”

Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, appeared on Fox Business to promote the service. 

Image credits: Bobby Bank/WireImage

He said the goal is to support American jobs and manufacturing. 

“We want to have customer service by Americans for Americans,” he said. “We want to have phones built by Americans, for Americans, and, you know, and we want to do it better than anybody. We’re going to disrupt the space.”

According to the company, the plan does not require a contract or a credit check. Eric Trump called it “the biggest bang for the buck” during his interview.

An image of the phone shows a gold-colored device emblazoned with the phrase, “Make America Great Again.”

The Trump Organization claims the phone will be made in the U.S., although details on where and how it will be manufactured remain unclear. 

Image credits: Trump Mobile

The launch is seen as a direct challenge to Apple. 

Trump has repeatedly criticized Apple for making products in China and has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones not made in the U.S. 

Experts say that if iPhones were made domestically, they could cost up to $3,500 due to higher labor and material costs. The current cost is around $1,000. 

Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company is shifting its iPhone assembly work from China to India and Vietnam in response to U.S. tariffs on China. 

In Apple’s second-quarter earnings call, Cook revealed that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will cost the company an extra $900 million in the June quarter alone. 

Image credits: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A recent New York Times article advised consumers “You Should Think About Replacing Your iPhone — Now,” citing growing uncertainty around the smartphone market and rising costs due to U.S.-China trade friction.

In this environment, Trump Mobile positions itself as a low-cost, pro-America alternative.

The Trump Mobile website says the service will work with all three major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile — but it appears to be powered by Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small carrier that operates as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator.

“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,” the Trump Organization states.

However, Wired reported that Trump Mobile’s “Unauthorized Use of Plans With Unlimited Services” section seems to be verbatim from Liberty Mobile’s terms of use. 

This led them to question the reality of Trump Mobile’s offerings of 5G connectivity, since Liberty only offers 4G LTE connectivity.

Following proposed tariffs on iPhone production, Trump Mobile enters the market as a low-cost alternative

Image credits: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Consumer advocates have raised concerns about the potential ethical issues surrounding the new venture. 

Robert Weissman of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, said the move could unfairly pressure other phone companies, especially if Trump’s administration provides favorable treatment to his own company.

“It threatens to be a real distortion of the economy around the Trump brand,” Weissman told CBS News. 

“My message to hard-working Americans is to slam down the phone in the face of this marketing ploy.”

Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard University, told The Independent, “No one who has been paying attention could miss that President Trump considers the presidency a vehicle to grow his family’s wealth. Maybe this example will help more come to see this undeniable truth.”

Brian Mulberry, a client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, told The Independent that the U.S. marketplace has been “ripe for this type of competition.”

“There’s been kind of an opening for this type of device, if you will, simply because not just Apple, but Samsung devices to a certain extent as well, have really gotten so expensive in the moment in time and we haven’t really seen that big of a measurable increase in utility,” he said.

This mobile phone service is just the latest in a string of Trump-branded products. 

In recent years, the Trump family has launched everything from sneakers and Bibles to cryptocurrencies and media platforms.

Image credits: The White House/ Flickr

Donald Trump Jr. also promoted the new phone, saying, “Trump Mobile is going to change the game. We’re putting America first and delivering top-level service.”

While there’s much interest in the phone, there are also many unanswered questions — including details about the phone’s processor, the actual network behind the service, and how data privacy will be handled. 

One thing is clear: refunds are not available, according to the company’s terms of service.