President Donald Trump’s family is getting into the mobile phone business with a Trump-branded service that will rely on pre-existing wireless networks and hardware that is “made in America.”
Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., unveiled the service, dubbed Trump Mobile, Monday at Trump Tower in New York on the 10-year anniversary of their father’s announcement that he would run in the 2016 presidential election.
“We’ve partnered with some of the greatest people in the industry to make sure that real Americans get true value from their mobile carriers,” Trump Jr. said. He and Eric Trump are executive vice presidents at the Trump Organization.
The service will use network capabilities from all three major US carriers — T-Mobile US Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., according to a statement. The family is also launching a Trump-branded mobile phone, the T1 — a “sleek gold” model that will be made in the US and cost $499
This new business venture stands to escalate concerns over how the president’s expanding business enterprises conflict with his government responsibilities. Unlike his predecessors, Trump didn’t divest his wealth or move his assets into a blind trust with an independent overseer. His sprawling business empire is managed by two of his sons and operates in several areas that intersect with presidential policy. The Trump family, known for its real estate empire, luxury hotels and golf resorts, has expanded its interests throughout two presidencies to include digital media and cryptocurrencies.
Some of the businesses have emerged to align ideologically with Trump’s conservative base. For example, Trump founded Truth Social in 2022 as an alternative to Twitter. It now boasts millions of active users.
A mobile company in particular would run headlong into Trump’s trade agenda. Just last month, he threatened Apple Inc. with tariffs of at least 25% if it doesn’t make its iPhones in the US and signaled that he’d go after other device makers, including Samsung Electronics Co. It’s unclear where Trump will source a significant volume of hardware fully made in the US for a new device. Few — if any — of the world’s major phone manufacturers assemble their devices at scale entirely within the country.
The president also appoints the head of the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates wireless providers. Trump appointed Brendan Carr to lead the agency, and has recently encouraged the chairman to resolve a dispute with EchoStar Corp., over the buildout of its 5G network and the utilization of its wireless and satellite spectrum rights. EchoStar also owns the Boost Mobile network.
Prohibitions Trump placed on his businesses in his first term to create an appearance of propriety, like forgoing new foreign deals, have been abandoned in his second. His empire has new projects overseas, including an 80-story Trump-branded skyscraper in Dubai with construction set to start in the fall and plans for branded hotels in Riyadh and Jeddah, plus a golf course in Qatar. The deals are all in countries with significant diplomatic, defense and commercial interests in the US.
Unlike high ranking officials like cabinet secretaries and agency heads, the president isn’t required to divest assets under the US law that aimed to reduce conflicts of interest in government. Since it was passed in 1978, every president voluntarily took steps to abide by its provisions, except for Trump.
The flagship Trump Mobile offering, dubbed the 47 Plan, will offer unlimited talk and text with 20GB of high-speed internet for $47.45 a month. Subscribers will also receive benefits such as telemedicine access, roadside assistance through Drive America, and protection services for devices, according to the announcement. A 250-seat customer service center will be set up in the US to assist subscribers. Customers will be able to switch to the Trump Mobile network with their current phones,or connect with the new Android-based T1.
Businesses that purchase network capacity from one of the big three US wireless networks — known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators — are an increasingly hot category for reaching niche markets. The trio of actors who host the popular SmartLess podcast, Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, recently announced they are starting their own phone company on T-Mobile’s network aimed at low-data-usage customers who’d like to save money on their bills each month.
Actor Ryan Reynolds was also an investor and spokesperson for Mint Mobile, geared toward people who didn’t yet have a wireless account and weren’t going to use their phones as much. T-Mobile acquired the brand for $1.35 billion.
DTTM Operations LLC applied last week to use Trump’s name and the term T1 for telecom services. The applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office cover mobile phones, cases, battery chargers and wireless telephone services, as well as, potentially, retail stores.
T1 Mobile LLC uses the Trump name and trademark, similar to other Trump-branded ventures. The Trump Organization isn’t involved in designing, developing, manufacturing or distributing the cellular service, according to a release.
—With assistance from Annie Massa and Bill Allison.
(Updates with details about Trump’s sprawling business empire)
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