President Trump has a Tim Cook problem; at least that’s how he sees it.
The president of the United States recently revealed that he isn’t happy with the CEO of Apple (AAPL) , specifically a decision he recently made regarding the company’s future. In fact, he seems offended by the tech leader’s recent actions.
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After returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump wasted little time delivering on his campaign promise to levy tariffs against major U.S. trade partners. Despite warnings that this could significantly impact both companies and customers, he pressed on, launching the nation into a trade war with China.
These decisions have put some tech companies in a compromising position, including Apple. Now, Trump is sounding off on how its CEO is handling his policies.
President Donald Trump isn’t happy with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s plans for the company’s future.
Image source: Ngan/Getty Images
Donald Trump has blunt words on major Apple news
Like many leading tech companies, Apple faced an uncertain economic landscape earlier this year as the trade war took hold of the U.S. economy. With tariffs poised to raise production costs, consumers waited anxiously to learn if iPhone and MacBook prices would be raised to offset tariff-imposed expenses.
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Prior to Trump’s recent statements, Apple seemed to be in his good graces. In February 2025, it announced plans to invest $500 million in building factories on U.S. soil, including an artificial intelligence (AI) server production hub. This seemed an early indication that Trump’s plans to use tariffs to convince companies to do more building in the U.S. were working.
While President Trump celebrated an early victory lap, Apple started making other plans. It responded to the China tariffs by shifting some of its iPhone production to India, reportedly with the goal of having its new partner handle 25% of its flagship product’s global production within the coming years.
Trump’s response makes it clear that he doesn’t approve of Cook’s choice to shift some production to India, even after the company confirmed plans to invest $500 billion in U.S. manufacturing.
“I said, ‘Tim, look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years….We’re not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves…we want you to build here,” President Trump stated yesterday.
He added that he had told Cook that he didn’t want him building in India, stressing repeatedly that he had treated the CEO well. While Trump did not provide specific examples, this likely refers to the tariff exceptions that Apple received earlier this year, something that Cook is reported to have helped engineer.
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It makes sense that Trump would be angry about Cook’s plans to increase manufacturing outside the U.S. He touted the tariffs as a means of bringing jobs back to the U.S; now one of the country’s most prominent companies is undermining this by shifting jobs from one rival economy to another.
In this, we see the flip side of Trump’s tariff plan, something he likely hoped would never be in focus.
Statements from the president raise questions about Apple’s plans
Apple hasn’t issued any statements on Trump’s comments as of now. The president did add that the company will be “upping” its U.S. production, though he did not disclose further details.
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For anyone who follows Apple, this may raise some eyebrows. As TheStreet reports, despite Trump’s previous claims about companies creating more jobs for Americans, it is unlikely that Apple will ever build the iPhone on U.S. soil, as Apple experts have made clear.
The combination of this and the lack of context from either Trump or Apple calls into question the president’s claims about Apple increasing U.S. production. Trump has a history of making bold statements that either turn out to be untrue or turn out differently than he had promised.
Bloomberg reports that Trump’s statements “threaten to throw a wrench into Apple’s plan to import most of the iPhones it sells in the U.S. from India by the end of next year.” It notes, though, that even for Apple, building iPhones completely in the U.S. will be hard, even for a company with Apple’s financial resources.
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