Donald Trump publicly criticized AT&T on Monday after a conference call with faith leaders was cut short due to technical problems. The former president took to his social platform, Truth Social, to address the issue in real time and demanded immediate action from the company’s top executive.
Trump claimed he was in the middle of a major virtual gathering with religious leaders from across the country when AT&T’s systems failed. In his post, he accused the telecommunications giant of being unable to make their equipment work properly.
He added that this marked the second time such a disruption occurred. Trump then directly addressed the “Boss of AT&T,” asking them to get involved, emphasizing that tens of thousands of participants had been affected by the outage.
Just minutes later, Trump followed up with another post. He apologized to those on hold and said AT&T should get its act together. He signaled that the call may need to be rescheduled and that next time, they would likely switch carriers.
Trump slams telecom giant and hints at switching providers
The frustration didn’t end with technical difficulties. Trump hinted that he would no longer rely on AT&T for future virtual events, saying they obviously don’t know what they’re doing.
As of Tuesday morning, neither AT&T nor its CEO John Stankey had released a public statement in response to Trump’s callout. The company has also not confirmed whether the issue was caused by internal systems, third-party software, or overloaded infrastructure.
While AT&T remained silent, industry analysts noted the irony in the timing. Earlier this month, Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, launched Trump Mobile, a U.S.-based mobile service. The service markets itself as a conservative alternative to mainstream carriers and sells $499 smartphones.
Trump Mobile under scrutiny over ‘Made in America’ claims
Trump Mobile initially claimed its smartphones were entirely made in the United States. However, several industry experts quickly flagged that statement as misleading. Manufacturing such devices domestically would be highly improbable due to the lack of facilities capable of producing core components.
Following the backlash, Trump Mobile revised its website language. Instead of saying the phones were made in the U.S., it now claims the products were made by American hands, without offering specifics on what that means.
While the platform shift stirred debate, Monday’s technical failure added a new layer of tension between Trump and Big Tech carriers. His comments mark a renewed public feud with one of the country’s largest telecommunications providers.
Whether Trump follows through with his threat to abandon AT&T for good now hangs in the balance.
Jaja has a degree in journalism and took classes in international law and business communication. Her career spans roles at prominent international media outlets, including International Business Times, Celebeat and Delightful Philippines. As a news editor, Jaja covered a wide range of beats, including legal, business, economy, cryptocurrency, personal finance, gaming, technology, and entertainment.