NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Trump family has unveiled a new venture in the telecom sector — and it's drawing as much scrutiny as it is headlines. On Monday, the president's children launched "Trump Mobile," a branded mobile service and US$499 smartphone, further extending the Trump name into consumer products while their father remains in office.

The announcement, made at Trump Tower in Manhattan, outlined a package of services, including telemedicine access, international texting, and roadside assistance, bundled with the new phone offering.

"We are going to be introducing an entire package of products where people can come and they can get telemedicine on their phones for one flat monthly fee, roadside assistance on their cars, unlimited texting to 100 countries around the world," said the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Mobile will operate on the infrastructure of the three major U.S. wireless carriers, though details on business partners and licensing terms were not disclosed.

President Trump has placed his business assets in a trust managed by his children but continues to benefit financially from brand licensing. His latest financial disclosure showed over $600 million in income through 2024 from a mix of ventures — including crypto projects and golf clubs. Since then, his crypto-branded initiatives alone have generated hundreds of millions more.

"No one who has been paying attention could miss that President Trump considers the presidency a vehicle to grow his family's wealth. Maybe this example will help more come to see this undeniable truth," said Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard Law School.

Branded but not built
The Trump Organization, which manages the family's business interests, said the new mobile venture will include American-made phones and U.S.-based call centers — a nod to economic nationalism. However, it clarified that T1 Mobile, the operating entity, only licenses the Trump name and does not involve the family in hardware design, manufacturing, or telecom operations.

MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) like T1 Mobile lease capacity from major networks such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. While the market is competitive, some celebrity-backed MVNOs—like Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile—have succeeded. Still, most struggle to scale profitably.

"MVNOs account for barely 3-4% of U.S. wireless subscriptions, and customer churn tends to be high," said Michael Ashley Schulman of Running Point Capital Advisors. "Unless Trump Mobile cracks the million-subscriber mark—well above most celebrity MVNOs—the financial impact is de minimis."

A new Trump-branded smartphone is expected to go on sale in September. It will be priced at $499, with monthly plans pegged at $47.45 — a nod to Trump's dual presidency as the 45th and now 47th president.

Trademark expansion
DTTM Operations, which manages Trump trademarks, recently filed for rights to use "Trump" and "T1" across telecom-related services, including mobile phones, accessories, wireless services, and potential retail outlets.

Despite branding ambitions, Trump Mobile enters a smartphone market saturated by Apple and Samsung, with nearly all devices manufactured abroad. The U.S. lacks large-scale smartphone production infrastructure, primarily due to high labor costs and complex supply chains.

"This latest move raises more questions than answers," said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight. "As always, the devil is in the details given that it is unclear around the actual commercial relationship with the telecom players and so forth."