Donald Trump and the rest of the Trump family have been accused of grifting too many times to count, but they don’t seem to have any shame. Their most recent cash grab, though, might actually catch up to them. The 2025 launch of Trump Mobile promised a swift delivery of the gold phones—if you put down a $100 deposit—but the ship date was pushed out numerous times. It wasn’t until NBC launched an investigation into the company that the branded phones started shipping.
Now that MAGA supporters are receiving their Trump Mobile phones, though, even more backlash is coming, as users report the phones are not “remotely anything like what was promised,” according to one X user. Keep reading for more information.
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Trump Mobile Phones Delayed Shipping
The Trump Mobile phone launched in June 2025: a gold smartphone called the T1. 590,000 individuals paid the $100 deposit to reserve the phone, resulting in a $59M collection for the Trump family. The ship date was initially promised to be summer 2025. Then it got pushed to late 2025, and then to early 2026.
To add insult to injury, the phone was advertised as "proudly American" and "Made in the USA," marketing that was quietly removed from the website within a few days of launch. In 2026, it was confirmed that the bulk of the manufacturing would be happening overseas—definitively not in the USA.
Then, the terms of service were updated, informing those that paid a deposit that their $100 "does not constitute a completed purchase," rather it is "a conditional opportunity to buy the device if Trump Mobile eventually chooses to sell it."
Trump Mobile Phones Aren't What Was Advertised
With more attention on the subject, CEO Pat O’Brien told TIME that phones would start delivering in mid-May, and some that had put down their $100 deposit started receiving their phones, but so far, they aren't pleased.
One user on X pointed out that the Trump Mobile phone is actually quite similar—or identical—to an old smartphone produced by T-Mobile. "Based on the specs the T1 is a rehoused T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G (a 2024 model, which retails on Amazon $126). Wingtech/Luxshare makes it in Jiaxing, Wuxi, or Kunming China. It’s not American made," the user wrote.
Senator Mark Warner even got involved, calling the Trump Mobile phone a "scam" in a statement. "There's no phone made from scratch in America like this… I think Americans have been hoodwinked. But this is an administration, whether it is the Trump mobile, whether it is the billion dollars for the ballroom, the billion eight of taxpayer money for the slush fund. I've never seen an administration where both the president and his closest allies are enriching themselves as much."
Social Media Reactions
Across social media platforms, many critics of the Trump family were far from surprised. "Lifelong con man pulls latest con," joked one user on Instagram.
"Another scam by the grifter-in-chief," said another.
"Everything he does is a grift," posted a third person. "Including the presidency."
"I really hate he can do this all the time and get away with it," the next person wrote.
"Brought to you by the Trump Crime Family!" added another.
"It will take decades to figure out how much the Trump's grifted this country out of," one person commented.
"Oh no, not Trump scamming people," one person wrote sarcastically. "Never saw that coming."
"Players gonna play and grifters gonna grift," a final user posted. "The problem is not the grifter but the fool who gets conned over and over again.
