Unveiled by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump at Trump Tower in June 2025, the £370 handset was pitched as a patriotic, “Made in the USA” alternative to Apple and Samsung devices.

The launch was timed to mark the tenth anniversary of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Within weeks, hundreds of thousands had paid up.

Almost immediately, the promises began to crumble. “MADE IN THE USA” was quietly downgraded on the website to “American-proud design”, then to the meaningless “Brought to life right here in the USA”.

By February 2026, executives admitted the phone would actually be manufactured overseas, with only final assembly happening in Miami. Meanwhile, Trump Mobile began selling refurbished Chinese iPhones and South Korean Samsungs under its American banner, International Business Times reports.

Delivery dates slipped from summer 2025 to Q1 2026, then vanished entirely. Customer service operators bizarrely blamed a federal government shutdown for the delays. Revised April 2026 terms now state that deposits create no binding contract and merely represent “a conditional opportunity to buy the device if Trump Mobile eventually chooses to sell it”.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged an FTC investigation. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called it “FRAUD”.

Trump Mobile has not responded to enquiries, and the gold phone remains, almost a year on, purely conceptual.