President Trump’s personal phone number is being bought, sold, and traded according to a report
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.”
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.
“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.
