Nearly 600,000 Buyers Paid $60 Million for a Gold Trump Phone That Has Never Arrived

Trump Mobile was announced on 16 June 2025 at Trump Tower in New York City by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of their father's 2016 presidential campaign launch. The venture was built around a single flagship product — the T1, a gold-coloured Android smartphone priced at $499 (£370) and pitched as a patriotic alternative to Apple and Samsung. Buyers were asked to put down a $100 (£74) deposit to secure their unit, with initial delivery promised for late summer 2025.

An estimated 590,000 consumers paid $100 (£74) each to Trump Mobile to pre-order the T1 Phone, meaning $59 million (£43.7 million) has been paid for a product that may or may not exist. As of May 2026, not a single confirmed customer has received the device. No firm release date has been provided, and Trump Mobile has not responded to repeated media requests for comment.

'Made in America' Promise Quietly Removed

The product's most prominent selling point began unravelling within days of the launch. About a week after the initial announcement that the smartphones would be exclusively manufactured within the United States, Trump Mobile removed those references from its website after analysts pointed to the absence of existing US facilities capable of producing a smartphone from scratch.

The T1 phone has experienced multiple delays and has yet to receive an official release date, with reports suggesting it may now be manufactured in China. The company's product imagery proved equally unstable. Phones displayed on the Trump Mobile website looked like renders rather than working prototypes, and noted a different section of the website appeared to show a render of an iPhone.

On 21 August 2025, Spigen hinted at possible legal action, posting on X: 'A lawsuit is coming,' after sharp-eyed users noticed that Trump Mobile's promotional image appeared to be a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra housed in a Spigen gold case, with a photoshopped US flag and 'T1' branding pasted over Spigen's original logo.

Billing Issues and Broken Deadlines

Independent reporting exposed serious problems from the very first day pre-orders opened. Journalist Joseph Cox of 404 Media reported that when he attempted to pre-order the T1 Phone, the website failed, went to an error page, and then charged his credit card the wrong amount of $64.70 (£48). He received a confirmation email saying he would be notified when his order shipped, but he had never provided a shipping address.

Cox later reported in a follow-up piece for 404 Media that the problems worsened. He was surprised to find two additional unauthorised charges on his card from Trump Mobile for $100 (£74) and $64.70 (£48), respectively, which he had not expected or authorised, and noted that the customer service number listed on the website was unable to help.

NBC News placed a $100 (£74) deposit in August 2025 to track the product's development. A call operator with Trump Mobile's customer support line promised a specific ship date of 13 November, which passed without any update. When NBC News followed up, an operator cited the US government shutdown as the reason for the delay.

That explanation drew immediate scrutiny, given that Trump Mobile is a private company with no formal connection to the federal government. Customer complaints have since piled up across forums and social platforms, with users reporting unreturned deposits, vague customer service responses, and an inability to get clear answers about fulfilment.

Lawmakers Call for Federal Investigation

The pattern of missed deadlines and eroding marketing claims escalated into a formal regulatory matter by January 2026. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Robert Garcia led nine lawmakers in writing to the Federal Trade Commission, citing 'a pattern of potentially deceptive practices that warrant FTC investigation.'

The letter asked the FTC to examine 'bait-and-switch tactics involving deposits for products never delivered' and whether Trump Mobile used false advertising in claiming the T1 would be made in the USA. The lawmakers also asked whether the Trump White House had intervened in the agency's enforcement of consumer protection laws.

'The American people deserve to know that consumer protection laws apply equally to all businesses, regardless of political connections,' the lawmakers wrote, adding that the FTC's response would serve as 'a critical test of the FTC's independence.' California Governor Gavin Newsom's office also weighed in publicly, posting on social media that the T1 phone project resembled fraud.

Trump Mobile continues to sell wireless service plans at $47.45 (£35) per month, with some users reporting billing issues including unauthorised recurring charges and difficulty securing refunds. The core product, the T1 Phone, remains undelivered. The FTC has not confirmed whether it has opened a formal investigation.