New York, June 16, 2025 - Donald Trump is entering the mobile phone market. With a blend of pathos, patriotism, and product promise, the Trump Organization has introduced a new mobile phone brand: T1 Mobile. The centerpiece: a gold-colored smartphone for 499 dollars and a 5G mobile phone plan for exactly 47.45 dollars per month - a symbolic reference to Trump’s first and current presidencies, as the 45th and now 47th president of the United States.
The plan, called the "47 Plan", offers unlimited calls, text messages, and data volume, no contract requirement, no credit check - and even free calls to over 100 countries, including all those with US military bases. In addition, customers are to have access to roadside assistance, telemedicine, and other services. The matching phone - the "T1" - is emblazoned with Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”, with an American flag on the back. Donald Trump Jr. also announced the initiative on Monday as a “values-based alternative” for American consumers.
But behind the golden exterior, old patterns emerge. The “Trump” brand is being licensed again - as with hotels, wine, mattresses, or steaks - not developed in-house. The manufacture and technology of the phone lie with an unnamed third-party firm. The service runs over existing network providers; there is no proprietary infrastructure. It is hardly surprising that the Trump family secures itself with this strategy - after all, many previous ventures have gone under. The list is long: the "American Idea" hotel chain, once launched with similar national-conservative pathos, flopped during Trump’s first term and quietly disappeared from the market. Even more severe was the case of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The casino, celebrated by Trump himself as the “eighth wonder of the world”, filed for bankruptcy just one year after its opening in 1990 - an economic total loss, followed by further Trump casinos. Anyone who manages to bankrupt a casino - an industry normally generating steady profits - should probably leave further ventures alone.
Ethical criticism is also being leveled at the current project. The Trump family announced the undertaking in the middle of the ongoing presidency - a timing that raises questions. Already during his first term, Trump was accused of exploiting his office for personal enrichment. The new licensing strategy fits into a range of deals, including a golf project in Qatar and a 1.5-billion-dollar real-estate pact in Vietnam, approved just weeks after his return to the White House. Eric Trump defended the initiative, stating that Americans deserve a “reliable, values-based mobile phone offer.” Critics see it instead as another prime example of political opportunism with economic calculation - a mobile phone as a symbol of Trumpism: loud, shiny, expensive - but empty in substance.
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