White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Apple CEO Tim Cook of lying about plans to shift iPhone production from China to the US, claiming Cook had “lied through his teeth” by making similar promises during the first Trump administration.
In the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” released Wednesday, Navarro told host and NY Post columnist Miranda Devine that Cook is “the king of evading tariffs.”
Josh Christenson for The New York Post:
“We let him get away with it in the first term, because he promised he would basically bring his iPhone production here — or out of China — and he lied through his teeth,” said President Trump’s senior counselor on trade and manufacturing.
Devine asked whether American manufacturing was experiencing a renaissance during President Trump’s second term, noting that Apple already has factories in the US and has promised to expand its domestic footprint.
“Not with Apple. I mean, they’re going to India, and to me, that’s not a whole lot better than being in China,” Navarro fired back. “But, that’s the exception, I think, that proves the rule.”
Trump has also faulted Cook for making products in India.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, Tim Cook’s promises on American iPhone production are the same old song and dance — rinse, repeat, never deliver.
And let’s be real, it’s not just the iPhone assembly mirage that’s stuck on repeat. Under Cook, Apple’s whole vibe has settled into the same predictable, zero-charisma groove: soulless canned video keynotes, incremental “innovations,” and zero Jobs-level spark. Steve sold dreams; Tim sells spreadsheets. Boring? Check. Effective at printing money? Also check. But if “same old song and dance” fits Cook’s empty promises on iPhone assembly, it fits Tim Cook’s Apple even better.
In China, there are city-size factories dedicated to assembling some 190 million iPhone units per years – dropping annually as India assembly grows. iPhone assembly is not really something that would work in America. The wages wouldn’t be attractive and there’s no city-sized worker housing, cafeterias, etc. And, by the way, how long until robotics can handle iPhone assembly? These jobs will go the way of the dodo as robotics advances. Those are the kind of assembly plants that could be built in America, staffed by a relative few, much higher paid engineers who keep the robotic assembly lines running.
The pressure applied to Apple is resulting in some movement in other product areas, however:
Apple brings Mac mini production to America from Asia – February 24, 2026
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