The Trump administration has once again emphasized that 'iPhones can be manufactured in the United States,' despite the fact that Steve Jobs and CEO Tim Cook have repeatedly said that 'manufacturing in the United States is difficult.'

As President Donald Trump threatens to impose reciprocal tariffs , White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt reiterated that iPhones and other products can be manufactured in the US.

Trump believes iPhones can be made in the US, says White House | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/645355/trump-us-iphone-manufacturing-dream-steve-jobs-tim-cook

Trump believes iPhone manufacturing could move to the US
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/08/trumps-belief-that-iphone-manufacturing-could-quickly-move-to-the-us-is-wrong

White House Press Secretary Leavitt attended a press conference at the White House on April 8, 2025, and reiterated his view that 'American products, including iPhones, can be shifted to manufacturing in the United States.'

Leavitt cited Apple's plan to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, which it announced at the end of February 2025, and said, 'If Apple didn't believe it could manufacture in the U.S., they wouldn't invest this much money.' The comment can be seen at around 14 minutes and 20 seconds in the video below.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Apr. 8, 2025 - YouTube


However, Apple's Steve Jobs and CEO Tim Cook have said for over a decade that it's impossible to manufacture iPhones in the United States, technology media The Verge points out.

Trump's Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, also said that the Trump tariffs would 'bring an army of millions of people to America to screw in the tiny screws that make iPhones,' suggesting that iPhone manufacturing would move to the United States.

Lutnick: 'The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones -- that kind of thing is going to come to America.'

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar ( @atrupar.com ) April 6, 2025 23:52

In response to Lutnick's comments, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman asked Leavitt whether President Trump believes iPhone manufacturing is the kind of technology that can be moved to the U.S. To which Leavitt replied, 'Absolutely. The president believes the U.S. has the labor and the resources to do it.'

In addition, the biography of Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple , Steve Jobs, includes a description of Jobs' meetings with President Barack Obama in 2010 and 2011. In the meeting, Jobs explained why it was difficult to manufacture iPhones in the United States, saying, 'China employs '30,000 properly trained engineers' to support 700,000 workers, but the United States has difficulty providing these '30,000 properly trained engineers.''

When Cook attended a Fortune event in 2017, he said, 'The truth is, China hasn't been a low-labor country for years, but that's not why we make iPhones in China. We make iPhones in China because we have all the skills, the amount of skills, the variety of skills, all in one place. The products we make require very sophisticated tools, and the precision required to handle these tools and materials is state-of-the-art, and the skills to handle the tools are very high. You know, in the United States, you could hold a conference of tool engineers and fill a hall, but in China, you have enough engineers to fill several football fields.' He explained the reason for making iPhones in China.