AppleZulu

Wesley_Hilliard said:

Please don't comment on moderation practices. Send an email or direct message to the staff if you've got a comment on moderation practices. Don't waste your time, I'll just delete the comment that violates the rules.

No, it isn't bias. We leave plenty of conservative and liberal posts up that are generalized in nature. Attacking a Senator, President, etc with insults and comments that can't be attributed to the topic will be evaluated and taken down if it crosses a line or doesn't belong in a thread.

However, if a post is about the President creating a grift, lying about whether or not it is made in the US, and people want to point out the grift in the comments, that's fair game.

If you can't tell the difference, just don't comment on political posts. And for those that don't like an individual's post history, just hit the ignore button and let them yell into the void.

Edit: If you don't want to talk to me (fair enough) reach out to Mike.

And yes, this is a grift. Without using the current president’s “brand,” there is no market for tacky, $500 gold-colored android phones set to run on a $50/month 20GB phone plan. If that same phone and plan were announced by anybody else without that branding, the business would close before it ever opened. Deadpool sells a comparable phone (minus the crappy gold color) for $150 less, and the same phone plan for $17.45/month less after the half-price introductory period. 

9secondkox2 said:

AppleZulu said:

9secondkox2 said:

StrangeDays said:

9secondkox2 said:

Business-wise, makes sense for the family organization to do this. Capitalize on popularity and make some money. 

No, it doesn’t make sense, because that’s unethical and wrong. It’s why we ask presidents to divest prior to coming into office. It only makes sense if one is void of ethics and doesn’t mind doing wrong. 

Is the president involved? I thought his family took it over in 2017. Or is the family not allowed to make a marketing connection to the fact that their father was and is the President? Donald Trump Jr. is not Donald Trump Sr. 

You thought wrong. Yes, the president is involved. He is enriching himself while in office, profiting from the very same industries which he affects with tariffs, executive orders and social media posts. He is doing crypto currency deals with foreign countries while making state visits. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/05/06/trump-organization-admits-president-still-controls-his-business-in-new-filing/

So we are using British rules now?

Yes, to the extent that we are using British rules of disclosure that demonstrate the complete lie that the President is not in control of the Trump Organization and directly profiting off of whatever money is raised through this latest Trump Org grift. 

It used to be considered an honor to serve in high public office, and a person of ethics would not only abide by the rules separating their personal interests from those of the nation, but would go out of their way to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Tax returns and financial interests would be disclosed, and personal investments placed into a blind trust. Not so, this president. 

You asked "... is the [Trump] family not allowed to make a marketing connection to the fact that their father was and is the President? Donald Trump Jr. is not Donald Trump Sr."

For anyone with a modicum of ethical standards, the answer is clearly and obviously "no, they are not." If the president and his family didn't want to make the sacrifice, he didn't have to run for office. It should be an embarrassment for you to exhibit your own lack of ethical judgement and suggest such behavior is in any way acceptable. 

This phone service and deal is not only unethical, it is crass, tasteless, and beneath the dignity of the office. With this phone they are seeking to profit by selling the president's name, the presidency itself, and even the US flag. The "47 Plan" and the $47.45 pricing all make it clear that they aren't selling Don Junior or Eric's name, they are selling the sitting President of the United States. 

In addition, the sale of a phone in the midst of a tariff controversy where Trump has specifically called out and threatened Apple, an American company, represents what would be a stunning breach of ethics if we hadn't been trained to expect it from this President. That doesn't make it legal, right, or acceptable, and anyone with any sense of ethics would see that.

9secondkox2 said:

StrangeDays said:

9secondkox2 said:

Business-wise, makes sense for the family organization to do this. Capitalize on popularity and make some money. 

No, it doesn’t make sense, because that’s unethical and wrong. It’s why we ask presidents to divest prior to coming into office. It only makes sense if one is void of ethics and doesn’t mind doing wrong. 

Is the president involved? I thought his family took it over in 2017. Or is the family not allowed to make a marketing connection to the fact that their father was and is the President? Donald Trump Jr. is not Donald Trump Sr. 

You thought wrong. Yes, the president is involved. He is enriching himself while in office, profiting from the very same industries which he affects with tariffs, executive orders and social media posts. He is doing crypto currency deals with foreign countries while making state visits. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/05/06/trump-organization-admits-president-still-controls-his-business-in-new-filing/

9secondkox2 said:

Interesting. Reporting indicates it's not actually being done by the Trump organization, but rather they are licensing the name to another MVNO organization. So The Trump organization is not that involved other than licensing the name? We will see what information comes out. Not a fan of this move at all. Can't really trust a trhid party with the kinds of claims being made. Recipe for PR disaster. Nobody wants politicians THIS involved in their daily life, even if it's in name only. Doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're on. And that gold color... not good. 

on the plus side (I guess), customer service is in the USA (St. Louis). 
Also, they are indeed claiming that the phone will be manufactured int he USA. We will see what that actually means.

Building nothing but licensing the name has been the  Trump Organization’s business model for a very long time. 

On the other hand, I guess Tim Cook is about to find out what loophole he can use to avoid tariffs while building a “made in America” phone in China.