White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Apple’s Tim Cook of fibbing about his company bringing iPhone production to the US from China, claiming CEO had “lied through his teeth” about doing the same thing during the first Trump administration.
Navarro told The Post’s Miranda Devine on the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” out Wednesday, that Cook was “the king of evading tariffs.”
“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.
“And he’s doing it again. That’s quite par for the course,” Navarro also claimed.
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 — whom he has referred to in the past as “Tim Apple” — for making products in India.
He threatened the company with 25% tariffs last May if production didn’t return to the US, but some estimates reported a domestically manufactured iPhone could cost as much as $3,500 if that was completed.
Apple announced $500 billion in US-based investments weeks after he returned to the White House.
In February 2025, the tech company said it would expand facilities “in Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington” as well as build “a new factory in Texas.”
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The move would provide up to 20,000 new American jobs, the company boasted at the time.
“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’re proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini starting later this year,” Cook also said in a Tuesday statement.
“We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we’re excited to accelerate that work even further.”
The total commitment in investments has also grown to a total of $600 billion over the past year.
By the end of 2026, Apple has pledged that every new “cover glass for iPhone and AppleWatch” will be made in a Kentucky facility.
The Supreme Court dealt a blow to Trump, Navarro and other administration officials who supported the president’s global tariffs agenda, but the trade czar told “Pod Force One” there’s a “Plan B” in place to keep the trade regime intact.
The high court ruled 6-3 that Trump exceeded his authority for imposing import duties to address trade imbalances under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
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“It did strike down the IEEPA tariffs, the emergency tariffs — it did not strike down [Sections] 232, 301, 122, 338, all the different powers that the president has been delegated by Congress and can use.”
Navarro has often lashed out at Apple for its production in China, last year dubbing it “the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.”
“I mean, we have, Miranda, this is like mind boggling,” he said on “Pod Force One.”
“We have $18 trillion of new investment pledged since the tariffs and because of the tariffs,” he added. “I mean, as President Trump has said, you don’t pay the tariffs if you produce here.”
Reps for Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
