• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechApple

What Donald Trump Doesn’t Know About Apple Could Fill a Stadium

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 19, 2016, 8:08 AM ET

On Monday, Tim Cook’s supply chain joined the list of things Donald Trump has promised to fix—alongside the VA, the Mexican border and Obamacare. In case you missed it, this was the soundbite from his MLK day speech that caught the attention of the Twittersphere:

“We’re going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries.”

It’s a simple idea. President Obama had the same thought five years ago. What would it take, he asked the ailing Steve Jobs in 2011, to make iPhones in the U.S.? Why can’t that work come home?

Jobs was blunt. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he told the President according to a Pulitzer Prize-winning report in the New York Times that Donald Trump must have missed.

“The entire supply chain is in China now,” a former high-ranking Apple executive told the Times. “You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That’s the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours.”

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

From the same article:

“Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.

“In China, it took 15 days.”

How would Trump fix that? He did not say.

Apple (APPL) did not respond directly to Trump’s remarks. Instead, it pointed reporters to its latest job-creation report:

“As of December 2015, Apple is responsible for creating and supporting 1.9 million jobs. Nearly three-quarters of those jobs—1.4 million—are attributable to the iOS ecosystem. Our spend and investment with thousands of US-based suppliers supports 361,000 jobs, and we now directly employ more than 76,000 people in the US, representing nearly two‑thirds of Apple’s worldwide team.”

Some of those numbers feel a bit inflated. This is more concrete:

It’s a video that went viral in 2013. It shows aluminum casings being manufactured in Elk Grove, Ill., for Mac Pro computers that are assembled—albeit in relatively small numbers—in Ft. Worth, Texas. Donald Trump must have missed it.

WATCH: For more on Apple, check out the following Fortune video:

This is not the first time Apple has found itself in the candidate’s crosshairs. See “Here’s What Donald Trump Tweeted About Apple.”

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

greenspan
EconomyFederal Reserve
’90s nostalgia seizes the Fed and White House as Warsh and Trump see AI as an internet-style productivity boom
By Paul Wiseman and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
2 hours ago
washington
LawWashington
Washington roasted for using AI feature with heavily accented English instead of actual Spanish on state helpline
By Cedar Attanasio and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
2 hours ago
Europedigital transformation
Why Europe can lead in trusted, industrialized AI
By Dave McCannMarch 2, 2026
3 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Why Sequoia’s Alfred Lin isn’t worried about the SaaS-pocalypse
By Leo SchwartzMarch 2, 2026
4 hours ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Making sense of the OpenAI-Anthropic-Pentagon tempest
By Alexei OreskovicMarch 2, 2026
5 hours ago
Electrician apprentices at work.
Future of WorkCareers
A dire electrician shortage is a ‘life-or-death’ threat to the AI data center boom—and an opportunity for Gen Z
By Preston ForeMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put her on the path give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
As Iran attacks Dubai, the tax-free haven for the global elite could see 'catastrophic' fallout — 'this can also send shockwaves globally'
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Gen Z men are eating ‘boy kibble,’ the human equivalent to dog food, to load up on protein cheaply
By Jake AngeloMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Trump's universal 401(k) architect on why lower-income people distrust retirement accounts: 'they want to know what the catch is'
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 28, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.