The Trumphone promises to be by the USA. Between doubts about the American technological alternative and conflicts of interest: here is the most controversial smartphone of the moment.
A golden phone, with the American flag engraved on the back and the name Trump clearly visible: it is the T1 Phone, the smartphone “for patriots“Announced at the Trump Tower in Manhattan and out between August and September 2025. Costa 499 dollarsworks with the operating system Android 15 And it promises high -end performance: 6.78 -inch display to 120 Hz, triple camera with main 50 MP sensor, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of memory.
In addition to the phone, the Trump Organization has also launched Trump Mobile, a telephony service which will take advantage of the networks of the main American operators and offer a “Unlimited” plan with $ 47.45 per month. Among the benefits: road assistance, free international calls and telemedicine services. The operation, according to the promoters, has a political and symbolic objective: to build an all -American technological alternative and “workers’ size”. But this is precisely this The most controversial point.
Made in … doubt! Trump Mobile claims that the T1 is “designed and built entirely in the United States”, but several experts have raised heavy doubts: according to Appleinsider, the phone would actually be a simple one restyling of the REVVL 7 PRO 5G produced by Wingtech/Luxshare, one Chinese company. The Verge is even more clear: “It is extremely unlikely that T1 is truly made in the USA“.
The problem is technical and economic: No US company, not even Apple, today manages to produce a high -end smartphone entirely at home at such a competitive price. To do this, a network of suppliers would be needed which, at the moment, is located almost all in Asia. Trump for some time It pushes for a return to American manufacture and also threatened Apple to impose duties on products assembled abroadbut between propaganda and industrial reality there is still an ocean.
Conflict of interest? The launch of the T1 comes in a delicate moment, just as the duties policies Sets from Trump are making markets from all over the world hesitated.
And then there is a second problem: that of the conflict of interest: the American Constitution provides, with the so -called Emoluments ClauseThat The President cannot draw personal gains from the exercise of his function. For decades, the presidents have avoided any entrepreneurial activity during the mandate, even arriving – as Jimmy Carter did – to temporarily give up their activities, while Trump, even during his first presidency, has reinterpreted this rule in a more flexible key, and now returns to office with a position Commercial product that bears its namefocuses on the most faithful voters and tries to transform politics into business.
It is legitimate to ask where the economic operation ends and where the political one begins.
Personal brand. The T1 Phone aims to be more a symbol than a simple smartphone: embodies the Trumpian ideal of an “alternative” technologyfree from the giants of the Silicon Valley considered too liberal, and aimed at a conservative and wary audience towards the mainstream. It is no coincidence that it is not sold as a “better” phone, but as our “our”. An identity objectwhich fits into a wider strategy.
After Alternative social networksnow it’s up to hardware, but how much can a product based more on belonging than on innovation? At the moment, the manufacturer or the actual level of autonomy of the company is not known, what is certain is that Trump, once again, has found a way to keep the attention high on himself. On the other hand, as Oscar Wilde said: “It doesn’t matter that you talk about it well or bad, the important thing is that you talk about it“.
