President Trump’s family business announced Monday that it was launching a mobile phone and cellular service in the first family’s latest attempt to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s political base.
The announcement by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest sons, who run the Trump Organization, left some basic questions unanswered.
The new $499 gold-toned Android phones would be designed and manufactured in the United States, but it was not clear how or where. The country lacks much of the necessary infrastructure to produce smartphones.
One member of the new Trump phone team also said a $47 monthly cellular service plan would include 24/7 telemedicine. But the health services that the company says would be included typically cost much more than the entire monthly fee.
The plan calls for the Trump Organization to license the use of the family name to a separate business, called T1 Mobile L.L.C., that incorporated in Florida in late April.
Although the Trumps are merely lending their name to the venture, the deal could still pose conflicts of interest as the president’s family moves into an industry regulated by his administration.
The Trump Organization’s marketing of the venture — called Trump Mobile — also highlighted the political underpinnings of the deal. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. unveiled Trump Mobile 10 years to the day after their father rode down the escalator of Trump Tower to announce his first presidential campaign, a point the company noted in the opening line of its announcement.
The company said that Trump Mobile would release its own phone, the “T1,” in August — the latest consumer product to carry the Trump brand. Mr. Trump collected millions of dollars last year from Trump-branded hotels and golf clubs and from sales of a long line of products including a Bible, watches, sneakers and a guitar.
Trump Mobile is the latest in a string of Trump family deals that were inked or accelerated after Mr. Trump won his second term, including a digital currency that is now a significant source of his wealth. Governance experts have said that the projects pose an unprecedented array of conflicts of interest for an American president.
“Good luck getting a federal agency to hold the company accountable if service fails or things go off the rails,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group.
Mr. Weissman also questioned how the phone could be manufactured in the United States, noting that only one phone, costing $2,000, is currently made here.
Trump Mobile offers a flagship “47 plan” for $47.45 a month, a reference to Mr. Trump’s two terms as president. Customers can switch to Trump Mobile by calling 888-Trump45.
Several of the Trump family’s new deals have depended on land, financing or approvals by foreign governments, but the Trump brothers emphasized that the phones would be manufactured in the United States and that the company’s customer service would be based in St. Louis.
“We don’t want to do that overseas. We don’t want to do that in India,” Eric Trump, who runs the daily operations of the Trump Organization, told Fox Business on Monday.
The company said Trump Mobile will offer service through three major cellphone carriers: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The cellular service can be installed now on customers’ existing phones, the company said.
Don Hendrickson, introduced at the Trump Tower launch as a Trump Mobile team member, said that subscribers to the flagship plan could connect with a doctor and obtain and fill a prescription at a pharmacy, “all at no additional cost.” He added: “This is all part of your Trump Mobile program.”
How a $47-a-month plan would cover a remote doctor’s visit plus medication was left unclear. A footnote on the Trump Mobile website said that an independent third party would offer and manage the telemedicine service.
Sharon LaFraniere is an investigative reporter focusing on the Trump administration.
Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, covering President Trump.
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