By Bernard Condon
NEW YORK (AP) — When the Trump family announced a new phone call at its headquarters earlier this month in front of a massive American flag, the pitch was simple, concise and packed with pure patriotism.
Trump is clearly rethinking.
How about “Popularly Americans”?
These are two words that can be replaced by the “USA In the USA” pitch that appeared on the website just a few days ago, and customers can pre-order by etching their so-called T-1 gold tone phones back. Elsewhere on the site, other vague terms are currently being used, explaining that the $499 mobile phone boasts “American Pride Design” and “this is here in America.”
The Federal Trade Commission requires items labeled “Made in Usa” to be “all or virtually everything” produced in the United States, and some companies have been sued for misusing this period.
The Trump organization has not explained the change and has not responded to requests for comment. Nor did the outside public relations company that handles Trump’s mobile phone business, including a request to confirm statements made to another media outlet.
According to USA Today, Trump Mobile spokesman Chris Walker said: “The opposite speculation is simply inaccurate.”
The website language change was first reported by the news site The Verge.
IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said he is an expert in mobile phone technology. He said he was not surprised that the Trump family had dropped the “USA” label.
But of course you can insist on doing that.
“Whether it’s possible to build this phone in the US depends on what you think is a ‘build’,” Geronimo said. “If that’s the problem of assembling components and targeting small amounts of targets, I think that’s possible in some way. You can always get the components from China and assemble them by hand somewhere.”
“We have cell phones made here in the United States,” Trump’s son Eric recently told Fox News.
Trump’s family previously flew American flags with products of questionable origins from the Trump brand, including the Associated Press investigation last year’s “The USA” Bible printed in China.
Trump’s phone is part of a larger family mobile business plan designed to capitalize on MAGA’s enthusiasm for the President. The two sons who run the business, Eric and Don Jr., announced earlier this month that they would offer a mobile phone plan for $47.45 a month, a reference to their father’s status as the 45th and 47th president. They said the call centers are also in the US.
“You’re not calling a call centre in Bangladesh,” Eric Trump told Fox News. “We’re doing it from St. Louis, Missouri.”
Given that President Donald Trump has regulated his business and is currently investigating a telephone service company that is Trump’s mobile rival, the new services have been blown up by government ethics experts for conflicts of interest.
Trump has also threatened to punish mobile phone maker Apple, a direct competitor, directly against his competitor, due to his plans to manufacture most of the US in India, and threatened to slap a 25% tariff on the device.
Original issue: June 26, 2025, 7:54pm EDT
