(The Hill) – The Trump Organization’s new mobile phone venture, Trump Mobile, has removed language from its website suggesting that its forthcoming smartphones will be made in the United States.
Trump Mobile, which President Trump’s sons unveiled last week, initially said in a press release that its golden T1 phone would be “designed and built in the United States.” The official site touted the phone as “MADE IN THE USA.”
However, such language has since been removed from the site, which instead advertises the $499 phone as “designed with American values in mind.”
“The T1 Phone isn’t just powerful it’s brought to life right here in the USA,” the site reads. “With American hands behind every device, we bring care, precision, and trusted quality to every detail.”
When the president’s sons unveiled Trump Mobile last week and committed to building their phones in the U.S., experts were immediately skeptical, suggesting the company was likely to encounter the same problems that have prevented other smartphone manufacturers from building phones in the U.S.
Smartphone makers, like Apple and Samsung, are heavily reliant on supply chains that run through Asia. It would likely require years and vast amounts of investment to move manufacturing to the U.S., an endeavor that could also result in more expensive phones.
In order to claim its phones are made in the U.S., Trump Mobile would have to meet strict standards set by the Federal Trade Commission, requiring most or all of a product’s parts be manufactured or sourced in the U.S.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, appeared optimistic last week about the prospects of making phones in the U.S. His focus on reshoring American manufacturing aligns closely with his father’s policy priorities in his second term.
“You can build these phones in the United States,” Trump Jr. told podcaster Benny Johnson. “We can do it cheaper. We can do it better. And eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America. We have to bring manufacturing back here.”
Despite the change in language on the website, a Trump Mobile spokesperson said its phones are still being built in the U.S.
“The T1 phones are being built by Americans in three facilities in the U.S, and we’re excited to have them available later this year,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
