Want to speak to the president? Report says Trump's personal number can be bought
CEOs, crypto bros and others wishing to speak to the president have been purchasing his private number.
Trump's personal phone number is up for sale. | Image by White House
We've discussed President Trump's smartphones during his first term and the two iPhone units he had. Back in 2018, one iPhone was used for his social media posts and it had Twitter installed, His second iPhone was used to make calls only. Both handsets were given to President number 45 by the White House Information Technology and the White House Communications Agency. The latter is the agency in charge of White House telecommunications and is run by military officials.
President Trump's personal phone number is being bought, sold, and traded according to a report
A strange report was published today by The Atlantic stating that President Trump's personal phone number has become a big ticket item and the White House is receiving reports of people seeking to get that phone number. The Atlantic's Michael Sherer, citing two Administration officials, wrote that Trump's personal number was the focus of "suspected horse-trading and black-market sales among influence brokers."
Journalists have been swapping the phone numbers of other world leaders in exchange for Trump's digits in transactions that have all of the intensity of kids trading their favorite baseball cards or Pokémon cards. But these are not kids looking to own the latest Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani card. These are company CEOs hoping to get the president's ear for a brief moment. The report states that President Trump's personal phone number has been "offered for sale to deep-pocketed interests seeking influence."
In 2019, President Trump made it clear that he wanted the U.S. to be the global leader in 6G development. | Image by X
The president receives "call after call" from the press
Trump often takes calls from journalists and The Atlantic report quotes a White House official who said that it is nothing out of the ordinary for the president to receive 10 calls from the press over a two-hour period. "It is literally call after reporter call," one official said. "It is just boom, boom, boom." It would be interesting to have a non-political call with the president about the use of smartphones in the White House, and how he uses his iPhone during the course of a typical day.
Back in 2019 when 5G was still in its early days in the U.S., Trump called for the U.S. to get started on developing 6G standards. It would be fascinating to see if the Administration has any plans to help the U.S. take the global lead in 6G. I'd also love to know whether the U.S. plans to truly become self-sufficient in semiconductor production. Although President Trump is not involved in the day-to-day operations of Trump Mobile, would like to see if he has any idea when the long-delayed Trump T1 Phone will be released.
"It's out of control" said one Administration official
The Atlantic said in its report that it had been approached by another journalist who was willing to trade two dozen cellphone numbers belonging to various people of high stature for the president's number. The Atlantic said it turned down the offer (perhaps The Atlantic was holding out for a future cellphone number to be added to the deal later).
Trump's personal number has been handed out so often among the press that White House officials have to Google the names of journalists making an incoming call to the White House. An Administration official says, "It’s out of control. It’s like a wrecking ball."
At the start of Donald Trump's second term, his personal number was private, known only to friends of the president and some journalists. But here we are, 14 months into the second Trump term, and the president's phone number is apparently known by many members of the press, corporate insiders, and crypto bros.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly had the official White House response to today's report. "President Trump is the most transparent and accessible president in history. The press can’t get enough of Trump, and they know it," Kelly said.
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