Trump is like an evil, rampaging toddler. Each ridiculous and infuriating decision piles up, and we begin to forget promises made and tantrums thrown. Every once in a while I see an article or a video and am reminded, “Oh right, he said/did this crazy thing”.
Such is the case with the Trump Phone.
Ever couple months I’m reminded of Trump’s promise to create an affordable, nationwide, AMERICAN wireless service with an accompanying AMERICAN-made smartphone thanks to Youtuber/Streamer penguinz0’s (aka Cr1TiKaL, aka Charlie) updates on his preordered T1 device.
While Charlie’s content doesn’t often veer into the political, he is no stranger to criticizing Trump. Unable to believe that Trump could actually produce a $500 USA made smart phone, Charlie pre-ordered the phone in the summer of 2025 with a $100 deposit. Since then, he has documented the bleak life of the T1 Phone. His updates cover how Trump Mobile is back-peddling and moving the goalposts, his calls to customer service often ending with the vague reassurance that it’s coming “any day now”.
Listening to the recorded conversations it feels obvious that the customer service reps are trained to redirect, lie, and convince customers that the phone is definitely coming. Charlie has had customer service lie to him, reporting that they found his account using a false phone number and email he provided. Another rep shared his personal frustration with Charlie, mentioning that he’s waiting on a phone for himself and his daughter. At the end of April a rep told Charlie that it was entity licensing interfering with the March release date and that the phones were to be sent out at the end of April. They repeatedly promised that the phone is indeed coming, although they can’t provide any tracking information, or delivery estimates, or really any details at all.
When pre-orders launched, T1 Trump LLC pocketed $59 million dollars for 590,000 orders. The Trump phone was first promised to be 100% made in the USA and that it would become available in September 2025. Quietly, the “Made in the USA” advertisement was replaced with the tagline “Designed with American values in mind”. The delivery date was moved from September 2025 to December 2025, with the blame being directed at the government shutdown. When the shutdown was no longer an excuse, they cited internal changes and licensing issues, and then swore to deliver around the end of January 2026. January passed with no Trump Phone and customer service began telling customers to expect shipments in March, then April. Now it’s May, and still not one Trump Phone has shipped.
Recently, Trump Mobile gutted its terms and conditions, sneaking in the addendum that the T1 Phone may never make it to consumer hands. The new terms and conditions says that the $100 deposit is not a down payment on the T1 Phone, it’s a conditional opportunity to maybe purchase a phone if they do make it. There’s entire sections stating that there is no guarantee that the T1 will be commercially released, or that it will be functional, or network compatible, if it is released. And of course, Trump Mobile is not liable for anything but a full refund of any deposit made.
Trump’s strategy is to overpromise first, ask for forgiveness later. No war becomes some war, then YES WAR in big, neon letters. Affordability is guaranteed, until Trump needs to make excuses as to why working class Americans aren’t catching a financial break. Whether it’s gas prices or Trump Mobile he redirects and makes excuses, never taking accountability. It reminds me of how a kid will lie to your face, only to proudly reveal that they had their fingers crossed behind their back while saying, “I don’t have to keep my promise, look, I didn’t actually mean it!”
There are people out there genuinely anticipating the Trump Phone, but they have been slower to share their discontent. Now, even die-hard MAGAs are starting to share their frustration on social media, screaming “WHERE THE FUCK’S MY PHONE” into the golden void. I keep wondering what will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for MAGAS. For some it was the Epstein Files, for others it’s inflation, and for some it will be investing in the T1 only to get…nothing.
For some Trump supporters, this will be okay. They’ll forgive him, they’ll make excuses for him and defend him. But when enough people have been burnt by Trump’s failure to deliver, when the people left standing aren’t enough to protect him anymore, then what? We can let him get away with a slap on the wrist again, or we can make good on our promise to prosecute him and undo the damage made. That is, if we’re willing to put in the work, and not bank on goodwill alone.
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