A year after Donald Trump and his family business launched a new mobile phone network and a gold smartphone, customers haven’t gotten the product – and might not get a refund.
The Trump Organisation announced ‘The 47 Plan’ that will cost $47.45 per month, referring to him being the US’s 47th and 45th president, and a ‘sleek, gold’ T1 Phone that will be ‘designed and built in the United States’.
T1 Phones were set to have the Android 15 operating system, a 6.8-inch punch AMOLED home screen, a 50MP main camera, a 120 Hz refresh rate and 256GB internal storage.
Almost a year after the announcement and multiple unexplained delays, the company behind the phones updated its preorder terms – saying that it ‘does not guarantee that a Device will be produced or made available for purchase.’
‘A preorder deposit provides only a conditional opportunity if Trump Mobile later elects, in its sole discretion, to offer the Device for sale,’ the updated remarks said.
Trump fans who splashed out cash on the deposit are fuming after repeated delays and changing production plans. After claiming the phone would be made in America, it’s now advertised as ‘being designed with American values in mind’.
Despite venturing into the mobile phone business, Trump is known to use an iPhone for work and personal reasons.
At the time of its release, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr’s younger brother and fellow executive vice president for the organisation, said that Trump Mobile was ‘going to revolutionise the kind of cellphones, mobile calling’.
‘More and more we’re using technology as a company, right, to correct the problems,’ he said on Fox Business.
Trump has capitalised on his presidencies with a slew of his branded merchandise, including Make America Great Again hats and clothing, gold sneakers, trading cards, Bibles, commemorative coins, and a cryptocurrency project, to name just a few.
The president made more than $10million in 2024 selling the merchandise, according to his financial disclosure report last year.
From airports to peace organisations, phones to Bibles – it seems Trump is looking to leave his mark – and name – everywhere in the United States.
Just down the road from the airport at his Mar-a-Lago club, a 15-foot gold statue dubbed ‘Don Colossus’ memorialises his 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month, it was announced that up to 30,000 ‘lucky’ Americans will soon show a passport with a photo of Trump to customs officials when travelling abroad.
There’s also been a push to put Trump’s signature on all new US dollar bills – which would be a first for a sitting president – as well as including his image on a gold commemorative coin to celebrate the country’s founding.
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