Further blurring what was once assumed to be an uncrossable line, President Donald Trump is once again monetizing the Oval Office, this time with a new service, Trump Mobile, that includes a cellphone plan and a $499 smartphone that will be available in September.
“We’re going to do it better, do it safer, we’re going to have more functionality, we’re going to have more features,” said Eric Trump, son of the president and titular head of the family business.
The new service, Trump Mobile, will offer a $47.45-per-month plan that includes unlimited talk, text and data, as well as roadside assistance and a “Telehealth and Pharmacy Benefit,” according to its website. Both the name — “The 47 Plan” — and its monthly price are references to Trump, America’s 45th and 47th president and a screenshot on the website of the upcoming phone boldly flashes his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
One critic, Republicans Against Trump, called it a “new grift” from the Trump family.
Sneakers, perfume, watches and Bibles are among the products that Trump and his businesses have introduced since his foray into politics. Like the others, the jump into telecommunications involves little more than a licensing agreement, such as the $40 million Amazon paid for the license of a documentary on first lady Melania Trump, who, according to The Wall Street Journal, will get 70 percent of the cut.
“Trump Mobile, its products and services are not designed, developed, manufactured, distributed or sold by The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals,” the company’s website states. The service is set to launch as an MVNO using the networks of all three major U.S. carriers, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, Variety reports.
Despite concerns about the use of licensing deals and other merchandise branded with the Trump name, the president and his family continue to chase profits, expanding their business at little risk, financially or politically. Critics are left with little recourse but to complain.
“The grift never ends: From the crime family that proudly gave us Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Daddy Diapers, and Trump Colostomy Bags… Ladies and gentlemen, the Trump crime family proudly introduces Trump Mobile,” wrote Bill Madden, one of the most prolific anti-Trump account holders.
According to a financial disclosure form released by the Office of Government Ethics, Trump reported that in 2024 he had earned more than $8 from million in various licensing agreements, including $3 million from his “Save America’ coffee table book, $5.3 million from Trump sneakers, fragrances and watches and a tidy $1.3 million from his line of Bibles.
But as Don Fox, former acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, recently told PBS, the president is exempt from federal conflicts of interest laws and standards. And the president’s wife and children are considered private citizens, shielding them from such conflicts, Fox said.
“So they certainly would not run afoul of any federal ethics laws or regulations,” he said. “However, it does reek of hypocrisy, doesn’t it? If we think about throughout the last campaign, how often did we hear about the Biden family, and particularly Hunter Biden, profiting off of the fact that his father was president of the United States?”
“We don’t hear any of that now,” Fox added.
As for the new mobile line, the “47 Plan” appears to be more expensive than similar plans from established carriers, according CBNBC. For instance, Visible, Verizon’s budget-friendly line, sells an unlimited talk, text, data and hotspot plan for $25 per month, while Mint Mobile’s 12-month unlimited plan costs $30 monthly.
The Trump Mobile site said its plan offers the “same coverage as the 3 nationwide phone service carriers” and that it supports a U.S.-based customer service call center, though it wouldn’t say where it will be located exactly, citing security concerns.
Further insulating himself and his cronies, Trump has cut the Justice Department’s Office of Public Integrity in half. That office, said Fox, is charged with going after federal employees “who do break the law, and particularly in terms of enriching themselves.”
“But Public Integrity is the last line of defense, and so that’s why the public should be concerned about this,” he said.
