As the 2024 U.S. election season heats up, political candidates are making increasingly bold statements to capture attention. One such statement came from J.D. Vance, the Republican vice president nominee running alongside former president Donald Trump. During an appearance on CNBC’s "Squawk Box," Vance launched an unfounded attack on Apple, accusing the company of benefiting from Chinese slave labor.
"Do I think Apple is an evil company? No," Vance began, before making the baseless claim that Apple benefits from forced labor in China. A simple Google search would have shown otherwise, as Apple has consistently worked to eliminate any association with slave labor, employing independent investigators and conducting surprise audits when allegations arise.
Vance’s ignorance doesn’t stop at Apple. He also claimed that companies like Apple should pay U.S. workers a fair wage, seemingly unaware that Apple raised its retail workforce’s starting wage to $22 per hour in May 2022. This wage is more than three times the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour, yet Vance either disregards or is unaware of this fact.
Vance’s arguments about tariffs on Chinese goods echo sentiments from the Trump administration, with proposed tariffs of 60% to 100%. However, U.S. companies typically pass these costs on to consumers, and Apple’s ongoing efforts to diversify its manufacturing to countries like Vietnam and India would mitigate the impact.
This pattern of misinformation is not new for Vance. From making outrageous claims about Haitian immigrants to taking jabs at celebrities like Taylor Swift, Vance seems to thrive on attention-grabbing soundbites that lack a basis in reality. As the election draws nearer, expect more grandstanding, but don’t expect it to come with any closer relation to the truth.