Trump Declares ‘I Don’t Believe in Telephones’ Day After Launching His Own Telephone


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Contradictory Statements

President Donald Trump's declaration that he doesn't "believe in telephones" directly contradicts his company's launch of a Trump-branded smartphone, the "T1." This statement, made aboard Air Force One, followed his return to Washington from the G7 summit.

Reasons for Distrust

Trump expressed concern that his phone calls are being listened to by reporters. He stated a preference for in-person communication for this reason.

The "T1" Smartphone

The Trump Organization is marketing the "T1" smartphone as a device made "for Americans by Americans." The phone is gold-colored, features an American flag, and will be available for pre-order. However, it will likely have some components manufactured in China, contradicting the "made in the USA" claims.

Trump's Tech Savviness (or Lack Thereof)

The article highlights reports that Trump is not tech-savvy. Past anecdotes describe him dictating tweets on paper to aides and using "bicycle messengers" for communication.

Manufacturing Challenges

The article cites a Johns Hopkins professor who claims that complete U.S.-based smartphone manufacturing is currently impossible, requiring a minimum of five years to develop the necessary capability.

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President Donald Trump declared that he doesn’t “believe in telephones” hours after his company announced that an official Trump-branded smartphone will soon hit the market.

Reporters gathered around the president aboard Air Force One early Tuesday morning after he cut short his trip to the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington, D.C., amid escalating tit-for-tat bombings between Israel and Iran.

“What can you do in Washington that you couldn’t do in Canada?” one reporter asked, eliciting a leery response from the president.

“Just be a little bit more well-versed,” he began. “Not having to use telephones so much, because I don’t believe in telephones.”

He added a paranoid rebuttal to the press, saying: “Because people like you listen to them, you know, so being on the scene is much better.”

Trump takes questions on board Air Force One at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday. Sky News

His comments were all the more strange given that his family business announced hours earlier that it will soon provide “Trump Mobile” cell service and sell a Trump-branded smartphone to “real Americans.”

The Trump Organization said its smartphone will be known as “T1” and will be gold in color.

Its website claims the device will also be etched with an American flag and be manufactured domestically. However, reports soon emerged that the $499 iPhone lookalike would have to be at least partly manufactured in China.

Tinglong Dai, a professor of operations management and business analytics at Johns Hopkins University, told The Wall Street Journal that the United States can’t make a complete smartphone at the moment. That capability would take at least five years, he added.

The Trump Organization’s gold smartphone is available for pre-order. It will cost $499 and operate on the Android network. Trump Mobile

“There’s absolutely no way you could make the screen, get that memory, camera, battery, everything” in the U.S. right now, he said.

After the announcement, Trump Organization executive vice president Eric Trump quickly had to temper expectations that the first devices would be produced stateside.

“Eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America,” the president’s second-born son told right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro.

“We have to bring manufacturing back to America. So, our ethos is, ‘Built for America by Americans. Do it cheaper. Do it better.’”

MAGA diehards can already preorder the device, scheduled for release in September.

Trump Mobile’s website homepage on Monday morning. The service states that it will not require a contract and that its customer support will be based in the United States. Trump Mobile

Despite Trump’s propensity to fire off reams of Truth Social posts, he is not very tech-savvy, according to reports. Madeleine Westerhout, a former aide, previously said he’d write his desired tweets on paper before sliding the page to his minions to do the rest.

He views emails as “a distraction” and was using “bicycle messengers” at the Trump Organization until around 2012, insiders said. “He is very old school,” Roger Stone, a longtime friend of the president, told Politico in 2016.

The site reported during his first White House term that he is “sort of a Luddite,” referring to 19th-century English textile workers who protested against the introduction of new machinery that threatened their jobs.

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