All Episodes

June 17, 2025 12 mins
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ah. Yes, so GLP strategist Bob Clegg hanging with me
here in studio. Your next phone could run on Trump Mobile.
And this is kind of interesting. It is, it's very, very,
very interesting. And so for more on this, let's you know,
it's tech Tuesday. Let's bring in Mike Dubuski, ABC News

(00:23):
Technology reporter and Mike, welcome again to the Mark Blazer Show.
How you doing, brother? Are you a dad? Did you
have a good Father's Day if you're a dad? Uh?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
No, I am, I'm not a dad, but sure my
dad had a very good father.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
So you know, sorry, man, I took a swing out
and I was like, I probably should have researched that before.
I but like, you have pets or anything, because technically
then you would be a I mean a fur dad. No.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, I'm really letting you down. I don't even have pets. Roommate.
Is that helpful?

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Only if they call you daddy, I guess, which, you
know what, that's your business.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Not not even gonna got that, merthifully they do not.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, that's a good thing. I guess, right, I guess.
But well, that's good to hear that your dad had
a good father's day. That's good man, that's good. Yeah, yeah,
for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
We went on vacation and got back yesterday, so I
still getting back into the swing of things. But yeah, no,
it's a good time.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
Oh man, it sounds like it is nice to be
your dad then if you took him on vacation.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
That's fantas exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
That's great stuff, all right. So it is of course
Tech Tuesday, and this is very interesting. Your next phone
could run on Trump Mobile launching a new smartphone and
mobile service called Trump Mobile. So talk to me about this.
This is no this is pretty interesting to say the least.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, So yesterday here in New York City, the Trump Organization,
which is run by Eric Trump and Don Junior Trump
Donald Junior Trump, launched what they are calling Trump Mobile.
This is what's known as an MVNO, which is a
mobile virtual network operator, which is essentially kind of like
a Mint mobile if you've seen those Ryan Reynolds commercials

(02:03):
or Cricket wireless. This is a service that essentially piggybacks
off of the coverage offered by the main AT and
T Verizon T mobile services. So the upshot, guys, is
that this is a service that will offer similar coverage
to those companies, which is to say, pretty broad coverage
in the United States, and it will work with phones
that work on those networks, which is to say most

(02:24):
of the mainstream smartphones that are out there. However, if
none of the mainstream smartphones appeal to you, the Trump
Mobile Company is now offering a phone of their own.
They call it the T One. It is trimmed in gold.
It has a big T one on the back and
an American flag. But once they start digging into the
specs of this phone, guys, there are some question marks.

(02:44):
For one. Under the storage section of their website, they
claim it has twelve gigabytes of RAM, but RAM and
storage are two different things. In addition to that, it
also claims at one point earlier today before they fixed it,
to have a five thousand MILLIONAM hour camera. Million empowers
are used to describe batteries, and this appears to have
a five thousand million amp or battery. So some typos

(03:06):
on the website, and we don't really have a ton
of information about kind of what processor this phone is
running or how they plan to build it, because this
is something that the Trump organization says they plan to
build in the United States, there is really no infrastructure
for that, no factories, supply chains, or knowledge base to
spin that up, at least in the short term. So

(03:27):
this is pretty eyebrow raising in the tech space. Guys,
how they plan to do this? For what it's worth,
the image that they have on their website appears to
be a rendering a computer generated image because the camera
binicle where the cameras sit doesn't have a flash, and
you would have a flash there, so it's like, you know,

(03:47):
a lot of kind of question marks around the phone
piece of this. The network does seem to be relatively straightforward.
It is forty seven forty five a months to very
significant numbers to Donald Trump, the president, and that is
a little bit more expensive than what you would get
from a mint mobile or a Cricket wireless. But they
say that they're also throwing in some extras things like

(04:09):
drivers excuse me, roadside assistance for your car, and things
like telehealth. But again, how that's actually going to work
in the real world, how that's going to work in operation,
we just don't really know yet.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
So also I see too, Mike, that it looks like
it's priced at four ninety nine four hundred ninety nine
dollars and claiming here also it'd be available in September,
and then the fifty megapixel camera was also listed here,
and then two hundred and fifty six gigs of storage
was what I was seeing, and I guess at the

(04:42):
price point for four ninety nine it's matched with that.
But like you said, there were some typos and so
on this, but the plan named forty seven, it's the
forty seven plan, like you were saying, forty seven forty
five per month. What's interesting too, though about this is
mint Mobile, like you pointed out with you know, a
Ryan Reynolds who he's the the well, he's owner of that,

(05:03):
I believe. Yeah, yeah, so I think it's interesting that they,
you know, they they come out and they bring this
type of thing out and then yet it's really kind
of on the larger networks, if you will, kind of
piggybacks on them the way you kind of put it
or what or whatever. I think it's the venture I

(05:24):
was reading operated by dt t M Operations under a
trademark license. Yeah, and so yeah, there's still obviously some
questions about this, which I would imagine have to get
answered sooner rather than later. If they're saying it's going
to be available in September, it's like, well, you got
to get the t's crossed and the eyes dotted then
at this point.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, I mean, just speaking guys to some of the
inconsistencies on the literature for this. The website currently says
the phone will be coming soon, which I you know,
is different from September or maybe the same as September.
We don't really know.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yeah, this was something that I read yesterday, by the way, Mike,
as far as the stuff that I was reading to
you just now or reciting now, that was in an
article that I was looking at yesterday. So I guess
it kind of remains to be seen if it's I
would think you would have kind of some concrete stuff
here if that were the case for today. But yeah,
coming soon or September, I guess which is sooner.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
I guess in the grand scheme of things, kind of soon,
but that's really soon. Yeah either way, though, you know,
it's worth mentioning exactly how steep a hill building a
phone in the United States is how big a hill
that is to climb, Because there is again no infrastructure
for this. They're going to have to, like, if they're
really serious about this, they're going to have to spin
up factories. They're going to have to hire people who

(06:40):
are good at building phones, which you know, we don't
train people to do that in the United States because
there's no real industry for it. So like that's going
to take time and it's going to take a lot
of money. What we've seen in the past with this
type of thing, there was a phone a few years
ago called the Freedom Phone, which similarly tried to cater
to conservative interest, specifically at an American flag back promised

(07:00):
a lot of safety and and things to that effect.
But that was a Chinese device that was imported to
the United States, dressed up with American flags and what
have you, and a sort of you know, a reskin
of an existing operating system, and then sold at a profit.
Right they jacked up the price for that extra branding.
Now the Trump administration has you know, made a major

(07:23):
effort to bring American manufacturing back to the United States. Yeah,
stated goal here. This you know, potential idea of importing
a Chinese phone does not seem like the good go
for But I mean, on its surface, like that would
be a fast way to do this.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
That's but Mike, to your point, that's no good with
and you're right, Look and somebody who hosts a conservative
talk show every day, I'm hearing that. And the first
thing I thought was, wait a minute, we this is
something that's being railed against, you know. And so I'm like,
I hope that's not the direction that this ends up going,
or or something along those lines. But I guess both

(08:00):
find out sooner rather than later. But he's going to
have a lot of questions to answer if that ends
up being the way that they get these these phones.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Right, So yeah, yeah, I mean yeah, I guess it's
also worth probably mentioning that the Trump administration and Trump Mobile,
or which is under the Trump Organization, stated that they
are separate from one another, right, that the president is
not actually like, you know, in the factory building the
phone or setting up the cell phone towers or anything
like that. Of course, there are people who question, you know,

(08:29):
exactly how distant those those two entities are from one another.
But for whatever reason, Trump Mobile is leaning into the
Trump branding. Right. It's called the forty seven plan. The
plan is forty seven forty five a month. So the
President is kind of all over this for you know,
much to the chagrin of some sort of ethics watchdogs

(08:50):
out there perhaps, but that is a big piece of
this as well. That's that's a big part of why
they think people will go for this.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yep, yep, we will see and you're right, there will
be a bunch of people that will We'll go with
this and go forward if you will. Let's let's pivot
to Nissan introducing I knew the Leaf was an EV
so they have a brand new EV, right, the twenty
twenty six Leaf.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, that's correct, And this is a significant story. Guy.
Normally we will cover like a new car launch just
as a one off, but this is pretty significant because
the Leaf, if you rewind the clock fifteen years, was
really the first realistic, mass market affordable electric vehicle on
the market when it debuted in twenty ten. Didn't have
a great range, it was about one hundred miles or so,

(09:35):
but at the time there was really nothing else on
the market that matched that, especially at its relatively low
price when for about the average cost of a new
car back then, which was around thirty thousand dollars, you see,
you know, fat forward fifteen years to twenty twenty five.
It's a much more crowded electric vehicle market, particularly on
this end of the market, the affordable EV. You have

(09:56):
things like the Chevy Equinox EV, which goes in the
low thirties, things like the Hyundai Kona EV, and a
couple others that are out there. Nissan Leaf is in
a much more crowded field than it used to exist
in and Nissan itself is struggling financially. There have been
reports that the company internally is divided over the future

(10:18):
of electric vehicles and what they should do to sort
of refresh their product line. It's been reported sort of
behind closed doors, that executives are worried that the company
might not make it over the next year or so,
so they are planning a bevy of new product and
the Leaf is kind of the first in this line,
again a really important card. They have made some pretty
substantive improvements to It has a larger range, about three

(10:40):
hundred and three miles is what they're quoting, which is
vaguely in line with the competition. Not class leading, but
you know, pretty good in fairness. It has an electro
chromatic roof, which is an all glass roof that can
dim itself, which is kind of interesting. It has, you know,
their latest sort of driver assistance technology, which you know,
speeds and slows down with traffic and keeps you centered

(11:02):
in your lane. It is apparently a very compelling product,
but it is built in Japan and would need to
be imported into the United States. This is a car
that would conceivably be hit with a pretty substantial tariff
if President Trump's proposed automotive tariffs you know, go into effect.
And Nissan has not yet announced pricing for this vehicle.

(11:23):
One of the main draws of this car, what soared
it to popularity, what made it the most popular electric
vehicle in the world for years in the mid twenty tens,
was its price tag. And will that price tag remain affordable,
remain attainable for the average consumer. That's the big question
mark around this car as it comes towards production. They

(11:43):
say they plan to put this thing on sale somewhere
in the fall, getting into the winter.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
All right, So I'm really waiting on the ev that
completely is. I mean, we know they're basically they can
be autonomous, but they're saying, okay, you got to have
your eyes to where it sees or you got to
have your hands. You got to every once in a while.
But I'm waiting on the one that can cook dinner
while you're literally while you're going down the road. And

(12:08):
then you have like a hot meal, so you're you're
having that while you're driving down the road. And I
don't know what.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
Other served drinks and serve drinks.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
Oh wait, but I don't know that you can. I mean,
are you're supposed to be having alcohol because you're totally
for the passenger only. Sorry, Yes, I knew that I was.
I'm waiting on something and I think that's gonna end
up popping up sooner rather than later at some point too.
But very interesting about the Nissan EV the leaf, if
you will. So very interesting stuff here on Tech Tuesday

(12:39):
from Mike Dubusky, ABC News Technology reporter, Mike, thank you
very much for putting up with my shenanigainst. Thanks for
reporting on this for you. Appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
Always happy to do it. Guys, take care all right,
We'll see you all right.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club

Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club

Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.