Trump’s family sold 600,000 people a ‘Made in the USA’ gold smartphone. The phones never arrived and the website quietly changed its wording

The gold-colored T1 smartphone, marketed as an American-made alternative to industry giants like Apple and Samsung, has hit a wall of silence. Around 600,000 customers who paid $100 deposits still have not received their devices. The project, sold under the Trump Mobile brand, is now facing serious scrutiny over where the phone is actually being made and a string of missed delivery deadlines.

When Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump introduced the T1 in 2025, they pitched it as a $499 device that would challenge the dominance of Apple and Samsung. According to IBT, it came with a mobile service plan built around the Trump family’s political image. The biggest selling point for many buyers was the promise that these phones would be built in the United States.

However, technology analysts were skeptical from the start. They pointed out that the U.S. does not have the large-scale infrastructure needed to design and assemble a smartphone from the ground up. Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at International Data Corp., told reporters that it is “completely impossible to design such a phone from scratch and manufacture or assemble it entirely in the U.S.”

The quiet removal of ‘Made in the USA’ language from the website signals the original promise is not being kept

The suspicion that the T1 wasn’t actually American-made grew when the company quietly changed its website. The original “Made in the USA” claims were replaced with much vaguer language, now describing the phone as being “designed with American values.” 

Industry observers have also suggested that the device looks very similar to smartphones already being made by Chinese firms, with some promotional images appearing to be altered renders of Samsung hardware. Experts like Blake Przesmicki from Counterpoint Research noted early on that the device would likely be produced by a Chinese original device manufacturer.

The T1 was advertised with features like a 6.8-inch AMOLED display and a 50-megapixel camera. Those components almost certainly come from overseas, with Samsung, LG, or Chinese firm BOE handling the screens, and companies like Sony dominating the market for image sensors. Even the processor would likely come from Taiwan.

The irony is hard to miss. The former president has long criticized companies that outsource manufacturing to China, often pushing tariffs and America First policies to bring production back home. This is part of a broader pattern of controversial Trump administration spending decisions that critics say contradict the values being promoted.

Seeing a project tied to his family run into the exact same supply chain limitations makes it a difficult situation. The delivery situation is just as messy. Customers were initially promised their phones would arrive in 2025, but those dates have slipped repeatedly. When buyers reached out for updates, they were reportedly met with excuses about government shutdown complications and certification issues.

According to CNBC, many have gone to online forums and social media to demand refunds, as the final release date remains completely unknown. Ethics watchdogs and lawmakers are now calling for federal regulators to look into the project, raising questions about whether the entire venture was overpromised from the beginning. 

The Trump family has faced criticism on multiple fronts, including how Trump addressed violence at a White House event involving children, adding to the scrutiny surrounding the administration. The company continues to promote its wireless plans and insists the T1 is coming soon, but the lack of clear information is wearing thin for the 600,000 people still waiting on a device that was supposed to be a landmark in American tech manufacturing.