Three months after its promised release date, President Donald Trump’s “patriotic” T1 smartphone is nowhere to be seen.
The project, first announced by the president’s sons Don Jr. and Eric in June at a flashy ceremony in Trump Tower, was intended to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Trump’s first presidential campaign.
Pitched as a made-in-the-USA device powered by a new wireless service called “Trump Mobile,” the gold-plated, American flag-branded smartphone (which looks suspiciously like a Samsung S25) was the latest in a string of tacky branded merchandise pushed by the administration following Trump’s return to power this year.
Customers were initially asked to place a $100 deposit to secure the $499 device throughout its development, which NBC News reports was confirmed but never fulfilled.
But after receiving no updates from the company nearly three months after the August shipping deadline, NBC reported that customer service representatives eventually promised a shipping date of Nov. 13 in mid-October.
When that date passed without further developments, a follow-up call once again pushed the shipping back to a “beginning of December” release date, with an operator blaming the government shutdown for the delays but offering no further explanation, NBC News reports.
During its initial launch, the T1 phone was announced alongside a slew of Trump Mobile-related services, including a monthly 5G plan costing $47.45 a month (a reference to the president’s two terms), unlimited talk, text, and data plans, and “telehealth services, including virtual medical care.”
But the project appears to be in flux following a string of enthusiastic launch announcements, with the website scrubbing any mention of a concrete release date while continuing to collect $100 deposits for a product it assures customers will be available “later this year.”
The website also appears to have scrubbed any mention of the T1 being “Made in the USA” as originally promised, with the site now boasting that the “American-proud design” was “brought to life right here in the USA. With American hands behind every device.”
Smartphone insiders, meanwhile, have suggested the reversal is due to the fact that it is practically impossible to manufacture smartphones entirely in the United States within the timeframe Trump Mobile has promised.
Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, which manufactures the only U.S.-assembled smartphone currently on the market, explained the immense challenge involved in creating an entirely in-house product in today’s climate to NBC News.
Purism’s flagship “Liberty Phone” took six years to develop, he said, adding that there is “no skilled labor” in the U.S. capable of manufacturing working smartphones.
“We actually had to go over to China with our designs, to learn the process, the manufacturing process, to see what all the steps are,” Weaver told NBC News, and said even today, the Liberty Phone is still not entirely American-sourced, with parts like the chassis made in countries such as China and India.
While the wait for the T1 continues, Trump Mobile is offering customers refurbished iPhones and devices from Korean giant Samsung, which are marketed using the same “brought to life right here in the USA” branding.
The Daily Beast has contacted Trump Mobile for further comment.
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