May 10, 2026
More than a half million people paid $100 each for a gold smartphone featuring an American flag that Trump Mobile promised would be "Made in the USA." The problem is, one year later, they don't seem to have been made at all.
President Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced the Trump Mobile flagship T1 phone (1), retailing at $499, on June 16, 2025 — to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign launch — as an alternative to Apple and Samsung. Since then, an estimated 590,000 buyers paid a collective $59 million in deposits to secure one of the phones.
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The device would work with Trump Mobile's service plan. For $47.45 per month, Trump Mobile's "47 Plan" (2), which operates on the T-Mobile network, claims to be "better than the rest," offering 100% U.S.-based support; extensive 5G coverage; unlimited talk, text and data; telehealth services; roadside assistance, and international calling to over 230 countries and territories.
The T1 phone is nowhere to be found
Not a single confirmed customer has received the phone, which was initially promised for late summer 2025 but later pushed back to November, then December and then mid-March this year. By April, Trump Mobile redesigned its website, removing the release date altogether.
NBC News (3), which placed a $100 deposit in August 2025 to track the story, reportedly called Trump Mobile's support line five times between September and November 2025 because the company "provided no proactive updates after the order."
In October, a representative told the outlet that the phone would ship on November 13. When it didn't arrive, the outlet called again and was told it would ship in December. Another representative assured the outlet that the T1 would ship "sometime in Q1 2026," blaming the delay on the federal government shutdown, which shouldn't have impacted private-sector companies.
Journalist Joseph Cox, investigating the phone saga for 404 Media (4), also placed a deposit — or, at least, tried. But Trump Mobile reportedly charged Cox's card the wrong amount and never collected his shipping address. The company did, however, send a confirmation email that promised delivery notifications, which didn't come either. He called it "the worst experience [he has] ever faced buying a consumer electronic product."
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Updated terms and conditions
Trump Mobile quietly updated its Preorder Deposit Terms and Conditions (5) on April 6, 2026. At the time of writing, the terms and conditions read: "A preorder deposit provides only a conditional opportunity if Trump Mobile later elects, in its sole discretion, to offer the Device for sale. A deposit is not a purchase, does not constitute acceptance of an order, does not create a contract for sale, does not transfer ownership or title interest, does not allocate or reserve specific inventory, and does not guarantee that a Device will be produced or made available for purchase."
The terms also add that a binding sales contract is formed not only if customers complete checkout, submit full payment and Trump accepts and successfully processes that payment — but also if "Trump Mobile makes the Device available for sale," adding that there's "no guarantee of release, delivery or timing."
"Estimated ship dates, launch timelines or anticipated production schedule are non-binding estimates only," the terms also read. "Trump Mobile does not guarantee that: the Device will be commercially released; regulatory approvals (including FCC authorization) will be obtained; carrier certification will be secured; production will commence or continue; or delivery will occur within any specific timeframe."
Meanwhile, deposits are non-transferable and carry no independent cash value.
Is Trump Media's T1 phone ever coming?
In January 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren, among other Democratic lawmakers, asked the Federal Trade Commission (6) to investigate "bait-and-switch tactics involving deposits for products never delivered" and to determine whether Trump Mobile's "Made in the USA" advertising was, in fact, false advertising.
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"The American people deserve to know that consumer protection laws apply equally to all businesses, regardless of political connections," the lawmakers wrote.
There's no telling whether or not Trump Media's T1 phone will ever be released. What is clear, however, is that, if it is developed, the T1 won't actually be "made in the USA."
The language on Trump's Media has been largely in flux. It went from "made in the USA" to "American-proud design," stating that the phone would be "designed with American values in mind" and "shaped by American innovation" with "American teams helping guide design and quality."
Dominic Preston, a news editor at The Verge (7), reportedly spoke to Don Hendrickson and Eric Thomas — two of the three executives that run Trump Mobile — in February to get a firsthand look at a model of the phone over Google Meet. And Preston reported that "it's clear from a glance that this isn't the same phone the company teased."
Company executives have confirmed to reporters that the T1 would not be manufactured in the U.S., but final assembly of the last 10 components would happen in Miami. The bulk of production, however, would happen overseas.
In the meantime, Trump Mobile is selling refurbished iPhones, made in China, and secondhand Samsung devices.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Trump.com (1); Trump Mobile (2),(5); NBC News (3); 404 Media (4); Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (6); The Verge (7)
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AnnaMarie is a weekend editor for Moneywise.
