Donald Trump received a frightening piece of information shortly before Election Day. Trump discovered that Chinese hackers might be listening and obtaining intelligence whenever he makes or receives calls on his personal cellphone.
Since Trump has never been good at writing things down, the Iranians had already hijacked his campaign’s email system, and the Chinese had hacked the Republican National Committee’s emails.
However, federal officials officially disclosed the October 25 incident, which allowed the hackers to eavesdrop on calls involving Trump, his running mate, J. D. Vance, and other political players, claiming that the hackers had now breached the backbone of U.S. telecommunications networks.
In order to avoid routing voice calls through central switching hubs, several campaign participants acted right away, giving up long-standing numbers, experimenting with burner phones, or moving to end-to-end encrypted applications like Signal.
On condition of anonymity to talk candidly, two people with knowledge of the incident told us that Trump seemed unfazed by the news. The president had been informed for over ten years of the serious dangers he was taking by utilizing a personal iPhone with a widely shared number to communicate with dozens of friends and coworkers, making him maybe the most sought-after target in the world by foreign intelligence services. But his phone was his lifeline. He had no intention of giving it up.
His phone lit up the same way it did on Election Night 2016, eight years prior, when he won the presidency for the second time a few days later. After the election was decided last year, Trump marveled in early-morning phone calls, “You won’t believe it,” an aide said. Twenty world leaders have already called me. Everyone wants to give me an ass kiss.
Donald Trump May Have Been HACKED! 😲‼️
Officials say Chinese hackers are believed to have targeted phones used by Trump and JD Vance. pic.twitter.com/kEAi1cYzVG
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) October 25, 2024
The president’s personal smartphone, which connects him to the outside world, has emerged as the most important technical tool in the federal government just over four months into his second term. It is frequently called by lawmakers, friends, family, business magnates, celebrities, foreign leaders, and journalists who are aware that Trump is still willing to answer the phone, even if he is unfamiliar with the number, despite the aides’ inattention.
“Who’s calling?” When Trump took our call one morning in late March from his Bedminster, New Jersey, country club, he asked. (The question was reasonable; practically anyone might have been the answer.)
The appeal of the phone is straightforward: Trump enjoys making phone calls. He enjoys being called. There is a sense of excitement associated with unknown numbers, similar to inserting a coin into a gumball machine and watching to see what flavor emerges. He keeps the phone since giving it up would be restrictive and inconvenient. One aide told us that “probably a ton” of people have Trump’s personal number and that “I think people gave up on that years ago” regarding any attempts to regulate him and his cellphone use. According to a second ally, the figure was “well over 100.”
Trump’s phone lock screen, a self-portrait of pompous posturing, mirrors his reign: a hall of mirrors reflecting only ego. Oh, the irony of a leader gazing at his own image while citizens crave true representation. Let humanity shatter these gilded cages and govern anew. #3E pic.twitter.com/jnLQspW12e
— Anonymous ⩜ (@YourAnonA) June 3, 2025
Trump has two devices, according to several aides, and at least one aide claimed to have seen him using three. (Some aides stated that he uses one of the phones mostly for social media.) One’s lock screen, taken by a Reuters photographer on Friday night, features Trump’s own visage with a finger pointing straight at the camera and a stern, authoritative expression.
Trump has occasionally altered his numbers; during his first term, at least one of the numbers he frequently provided as a 2016 presidential candidate ceased functioning. Another official informed us that Trump’s phone had been equipped with extra security protections, but it’s unclear what protection they would have provided against the Chinese breach that targeted telecom carriers’ back-end systems.
“He is not walking around with a run-of-the-mill iPhone off the shelf,” an adviser told us. The White House declined to explain more. Trump is “the most transparent and accessible President in American history,” Cheung continued, adding that his fixation with maintaining his own phone is just proof that he is reachable.
