Trump Once Called T-Mobile `Terrible' and Now CEO Comes Calling

(Bloomberg) -- In 2015, Donald Trump offered a strong opinion about mobile service, directed at a guest in one of his hotels.

“T-Mobile service is terrible! Why can't you do something to improve it for your customers,” Trump said in a tweet directed at John Legere, chief executive officer of T-Mobile US Inc. “I don't want it in my buildings.”

Legere shot back, also on Twitter, “I will serve all customers in the USA openly but I will obviously leave your hotel right away based on this.”

The next day, after switching lodgings, Legere tweeted,“I am so happy to wake up in a hotel where every single item isn't labeled ‘Trump' and all the books and TV is about him.”

Legere, who is visiting Washington this week, may be hoping to put that exchange behind him as he tries to convince Trump administration regulators to approve T-Mobile's $26.5 billion purchase of wireless provider Sprint Corp.

The tie-up of the third- and fourth-largest U.S. mobile providers needs to clear antitrust and communications regulators, who may be concerned over a reduction of competition in a wireless market dominated by four providers.

Legere said on CNBC he was “gonna be in the White House” during the swing through Washington, which would give him a chance to salve old wounds. The CEO known for his flowing locks and magenta T-shirts said he'd stop there as part of a Washington tour to “to talk to everybody who would love to hear the details.”

A White House official said Legere wasn't on Trump's Tuesday schedule. Tara Darrow, a T-Mobile spokeswoman, didn't respond to a telephone call or email messages. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission haven't commented on the Sprint deal.

The back-and-forth in 2015 drew attention from outlets including the tech website Recode, which called it an “Epic Twitter Smackdown.”

--With assistance from Scott Moritz and Justin Sink

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman

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