The Trump Organisation’s pledge that its branded smartphone would be “Made in the USA” has been dropped from marketing material, just over a week after the device’s announcement led experts to question the feasibility of such a phone being made in America.

The so-called T1 Phone 8002 was revealed by US President Donald Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. earlier this month, with a website which stated the device would be “proudly designed and built in the United States” and would begin shipping in August for around $US499 ($767).

But the promise was too good to be true, with the family’s Trump Mobile brand removing any mention of American manufacturing or a shipping date from its website this week, as first reported by The Verge.

The Trump Mobile site replaced the pledge with several vaguer taglines, including “proudly American” and “designed with American values in mind”.

Other claims included the smartphone being “brought to life right here in the USA”, with “American hands behind every device”.

“American-proud design” was also now listed as one of the phone’s key features.

Instead of its original August release schedule, the site now states those who pre-order the phone will receive their devices “later this year”.

As the Associated Press pointed out, several companies have been sued for allegedly misusing the term “Made in USA”, as the country’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires products with that label be “all or virtually all” produced domestically.

Key features changed on the fly

Updates to the listed features of the T1 Phone also suggested The Trump Organisation was yet to confirm the device’s design and specifications, despite pre-orders beginning more than a week ago.

While the Android-based device was originally advertised as boasting a 6.78-inch screen, it is now listed as having only a 6.25-inch display.

The site had also claimed the phone would have 12GB of RAM, but it no longer listed any amount of memory — only 256GB of internal storage.

It appeared the phone would still come with a $US47.45 ($72) monthly plan as part of the Trump Mobile virtual network.


Trump Mobile was launched in June by Donald Trump Jr. (left) and Eric Trump (right). Image: Shutterstock

Blog posts on the site about the phone’s “Top 10 Features” and “10 Reasons To Choose” its associated mobile plan appeared to contain no details at the time of writing — only broken buttons designed to allow users to flick through the lists which did not actually work.

There was also still no confirmation of which processor the device would contain, but the website was updated to use the correct legal superscript of “TM” for trademark, instead of the previous “SM” for service mark.

Trump Mobile has not announced which supplier or brand would be assembling the device, despite it becoming clearer that it would likely not be built in America as initially promised.

Confusingly, a Trump Mobile customer service employee reportedly doubled down on the original claim when speaking to a Wired reporter, telling them, “We don't have the name of the manufacturer yet, but they are going to be made here in America."

Among what has remained on the Trump Mobile site is a photoshopped mockup of what the brand believes the phone will look like, including three rear camera lenses but no rear camera flash.

Would a Trump phone face tariffs if it’s made outside the US?

Donald Trump has threatened a 25 per cent tariff on smartphones imported into the US which could begin as soon as July, including those made by the likes of Apple, Samsung, or “anybody” that sells smartphones in the US which were made outside of the country.

While a Trump Mobile customer service representative reportedly told Wired earlier this month that the T1 Phone would not be affected by US tariffs, it remained unclear if that would still be the case if the phone was not made in America as initially announced.

Apple still assembles a large portion of its iPhones in China, but the company has been moving some of its production to India and Vietnam in recent years — where Samsung already does most of its smartphone manufacturing.

The Trump Organisation’s move into mobile devices and network services has also raised concerns with experts over potential conflicts of interest, given Trump’s role as US President and his likely influence over the country’s regulatory agencies.