Eric Trump announced Monday that the Trump Organization would be launching its own gold "made in the USA" phone. However, when speaking about it to a right-wing host, he confessed it actually wasn't being made in the country.
He told Ben Shapiro that it was the company's ambition to have them made domestically eventually.
Speaking Monday, the Trump son explained, "You can build these phones in the United States. Our customer service is in the United States in St. Louis, Missouri. We can add more functionality. We can do it cheaper. We can do it better.
"And eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America. We have to bring manufacturing back to America. So, our ethos is, built for Americas by Americans. Do it cheaper. Do it better."
The tech website Apple Insider walked through the specifics of how the Trump phone, like Apple phones and others, will not be "made in the USA" in the way is followers might expect.
The Trump business' press release about the phone purports that the device, The T1, is "designed and built in the United States." The report noted that Apple has a similarly ambiguous claim, "Designed by Apple in California." In Apple's case, however, it has a disclaimer saying that the phones are assembled in India or China.
Apple insider examined the specs, boasting of a "6.8-inch Punch-Hole AMOLED display," with "an under-screen fingerprint sensor and an AI Face Unlock."
The site noted that there are no U.S. "AMOLED display manufacturers, and the VCSEL used for face unlock technologies is also produced overseas."
Creative Strategies Inc. analyst Max Weinbach posted on X that he was taking bets on where the original design manufacturer was located. After a few hours, he discovered it's made by a Chinese company.
"And the answer is... Wingtech REVVL 7 Pro 5G! Same device as the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, custom body. Wingtech, now owned by Luxshare, makes it in Jiaxing, Wuxi, or Kunming China," he said.
Steve Hou of Bloomberg LP, found the same phone on Amazon. Trump is selling his phone for $499, but it can be purchased on Amazon for $169. It can also be purchased in gold. GadgPro is offering $192.48 for a gold phone with a better camera and two terabytes of storage.
Also, the service won't come from Trump's own cellular phone network. Instead, it will likely be on the backs of other wireless carriers, the report claimed.
"Trump Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). It will likely work on three major U.S. carriers, leveraging the 5G networks and coverage of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile," the report explained. "What it is not, is a new network. It resells AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile network access."
The Trump Mobile also claims it will have "Device Protection," but Apple Insider wrote that it will be "handled by a third-party provider. Trump Mobile doesn't say what that would be."
"In theory, the T1 could simply be a reskinned version of the REVVL 7 Pro 5G, in a new enclosure and with slightly moved around cameras," said Apple Insider.
A month ago, before announcing that the Trump family would become an Apple competitor, President Donald Trump threatened to add a 25% tariff on Apple, CNN reported at the time.
"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
See the clip of Eric Trump below or at the link here.
