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Trump family company announces next venture: a mobile phone company
NEW YORK — If Trump watches or sneakers or bibles aren't your thing, the family business just added another product to show your support for the U.S. president: mobile phones.
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The Trump company announced Monday a new business, Trump Mobile, that will offer cell service in a licensing deal and sell gold phones by the summer. It's the latest in a string of new schemes struck despite mounting ethical concerns that the U.S. president is profiting off his position and could manipulate public policy for personal gain.
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Eric Trump, the president's son running The Trump Organization in his absence, suggested the pitch is patriotism, emphasizing that the phones will be built in the U.S. and the phone service will maintain a call center in the country as well.
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The announcement follows several real estate deals for towers and resorts in the Middle East, including a golf development in Qatar announced in April. A $1.5 billion partnership to build golf courses, hotels and real estate projects in Vietnam was approved last month, though the deal was in the works before Trump was elected.
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Trump has already used the main regulatory agency that will oversee Trump Mobile in personal disputes.
The Federal Communications Commission has launched investigations of media outlets Trump dislikes and, in some cases, is personally suing. And the president himself last month criticized cell phone maker Apple, now a big business rival, because it planned to make most of its U.S. iPhones in India, threatening to slap a 25% tariff on the devices.
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Eric Trump said that consumers deserve a phone that aligns with their values.
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'Hard-working Americans deserve a wireless service that's affordable, reflects their values, and delivers reliable quality they can count on,' he said in a statement.
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The Trump phone deal comes as a mandatory financial disclosure report just filed with the government shows the president has moved fast in the last year to profit off his celebrity, taking in $3 million in revenue from selling 'Save America' coffee table books, $2.8 million from Trump watches and $2.5 million from Trump branded sneakers and fragrances.
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The Trump Organization on Monday said the new, gold-colored phone available for $499 in August, called the T1 Phone, won't be designed or made by Trump Mobile, but by another company.
