TRUMP: “Don’t forget. Apple makes their products in China. I told Tim Cook, a friend of mine, make your product in the US. Build those big, beautiful plants that go on for miles. Build those plants in the US. I like that even better…China is the biggest beneficiary of Apple.” pic.twitter.com/tNK6OZVeDo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 4, 2019
At the White House news conference, Trump was asked whether he was concerned about Apple’s plunge in the stock market earlier this week.
“No, I’m not,” he replied. “I mean, look, they’ve gone up a lot. You know, they’ve gone up hundreds of percent since [I’ve become] president. Apple was at a number that was incredible, and they’re going to be fine.”
But not everyone is so certain. In a letter to investors on Wednesday, Tim Cook warned that the company’s final 2018 quarterly projection would come up $9 billion dollars short.
Cook blamed a number of issues, including lackluster iPhone sales, but also pointed to Trump’s trade war with China. The stock market opened the following day with Apple down $57 billion in market value.
Trump had more to say beyond promising that the company would be fine in the long run.
“Apple is a great company,” Trump said during his news conference. “Look, I have to worry about our country. Don’t forget, Apple makes the product in China.”
“I told Tim Cook, who’s a friend of mine who I like a lot, make your product in the United States,” Trump added. “Build those big beautiful plants that go on for miles. Build those plants in the United States. I’d like that even better. Apple makes its product in China. China is the biggest beneficiary of Apple … because they build their product mostly in China.”
Trump, who is notably an iPhone user, does appear to be a fan of Apple. While it’s unclear whether Cook also considers him a friend, Trump has made it clear that he likes the Apple CEO.
Apple publicly warned last year that Trump’s tariffs on China would increase the price of its products. The Trump administration responded by exempting Apple products from the tariffs. Still, the threat of retaliation from China against Apple due to Trump’s trade war lingers in the air.
Trump, however, wasn’t finished with his Apple comments.
“But now, [Cook is] investing $350 billion — because of what we did with taxes and the incentives that we created — in the United States, “Trump said. “He’s going to build a campus and lots of other places.”
“My focus is the United States,” he added. “I want to get those companies to come back like so many are doing into the United States. I want Apple to make their iPhones and all of the great things that they make in the United States and that will take place.”
The President’s assertion — that Apple is investing $350 billion into the United States and will soon build its iPhones in the country — is false.
Last January, Apple announced a $350 billion contribution to the U.S. economy over five years. However, as Politifact reported last year when Trump first touted this news, this isn’t all investment in the country. Politifact found that most of the $350 billion was going to Apple’s suppliers and tax repatriation. Less than 10 percent of that $350 billion was likely going to end up invested in the country, according to Politifact.
The Apple campus Trump is referring to is indeed real. The company is investing $1 billion into its new expansion into Austin. But, Apple products will not be manufactured there.
Trump has long said that he wants Apple to manufactures its products in the U.S. The President has met with Cook to push for this very thing. In 2017, Trump even claimed that Tim Cook promised him that Apple would open three “big, big, big” plants in the states. The closest the U.S. has seen to that is Apple’s contracted manufacturing firm Foxconn opening a plant in Wisconsin to manufacture LCD screens.
