Trump paid dividends to tech giants’ threats in a small Kentucky town, but also attracted attention |

For those who read news on iPhones, these opportunities are the glass screens they tapped on were made in a small town in the center Kentucky You’ve never heard of it.

Now, Donald Trump Want everything iPhone And the Apple Watch glass screen will be made in the U.S., and the giant tech company recently announced it will be obligated.

Apple CEO Tim Cook enter On August 6, the Oval Office showed Trump 24-carat gold and glass gifts, and he also announced that Apple will start making all the high-strength Gorilla Glass and iPhone glass for iPhone in a small town in the Bluegrass countryside of Kentucky.

It marks the first time all glass apple The product will be built within the United States, creating the world’s largest smartphone glass production line in towns with less than 10,000 residents.

It was also an early victory for the Trump administration to bring U.S. manufacturing back to the United States through billions of dollars in tariff threats. For months, the CEO of the largest U.S. company has been defeating the White House’s fast track, hoping to get Trump’s concessions by attracting the president’s ego.

In the central rural area Kentuckypart of the United States has struggled in economic frustration for decades, and many say Apple investment is a godsend.

David Ballard worked at the local Corning Glass factory in the 1960s and 1970s, when Apple intended to continue the expansion, regardless of tariff issues. ”

“Apple thinks we have a great cutting-edge facility here.”

For a town with a budget of about 20 mm, Apple’s investment will increase the number of engineering and manufacturing at Corning Gorilla Glass Factory by 50% to 600 $2.5 billion investment.

For more than a year, Trump has promised to bring us back to manufacturing from overseas during his campaign and during his tenure.

Corning, a major manufacturer that employs thousands of people around the world, is very happy with Trump and Apple’s moves.

“We developed and made glass cups iPhone 18 years ago, in Haroldsburg, Kentucky.

“With this new multi-billion dollar commitment from Apple and lighting from our state-of-the-art manufacturing platform, we are hiring more people and bringing 100% of Apple cover glass demand back to the original home of innovative.”

But as hundreds of towns and communities across the country are seeing major new investments — either due to funding from the Biden administration’s inflation-reducing bill, or like Harrodsburg Due to Trump’s tariff threatit challenges at the local level.

Located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) of an interstate from the Canadian border to Florida, Harrodsburg is the first permanent European-created settlement in Kentucky.

“A lot of people are excited; it’s a boon for the community,” said Nadine White, Democratic chairman of Mercer County.

“Most of the concerns I hear are from people who want to know if we have housing [the new workers];Do they live here or elsewhere. And there are some concerns about taxes. ”

It is the tax increase in taxes that are taking over many business owners’ ideas.

When Rafael Ayala opened a Mexican restaurant on the South Street in Harrodsburg in the late 1990s, there were only two other open businesses on the street, one of which was a bank.

“If Corning grows, that might be good for us — we make a lot of meals for their staff,” he said.

“But tax revenue has increased a lot over the years.”

Locals also suggest that many immigrants in the region are afraid because of the current political climate.

Although Kentucky is dealing with one of these The worst labor shortage in the region.

Trump’s demonized immigration plays an important role in blue-collar factory work, with Kentucky ranked fourth in the country in terms of the number of refugee residents per capita.

Investments made by international companies have also played an important role in the development of Haroldsburg. Nearly one-third of workers in Mercer County, Haroldsburg, are employed in manufacturing supply Parent companies in Japan and Sweden, such as Hitachi Astemo Americas, Toyota Boshoku America and Essity.

What’s more, Corning will now dedicate 100% of its Harrodsburg operations to producing glass for Apple, a move that could increase its long-term risk by relying on individual customers.

Few locals who criticize Trump want to record with their political views—77% of Mercer County voters supported Trump and JD Vance in the November presidential election—even if they think the president is responsible for bringing those efforts and investments to the region.

“I don’t like him at all; I think he just wants to arrange his pockets,” said a business owner in downtown Haroldsburg, asking not to speak openly and freely because he fears doing so will affect his business.

“But these jobs are great for the town.”

Despite multiple multinational companies and Apple announcements, this is a region that needs investment.

Last month, Haroldsburg City authorities passed a new property tax rate – lower than every year of the past two years – in part to reduce the burden on residents, as the cost of living continues to grow. Many stores and businesses in the city center have been closed in the most recent Monday afternoon.

Inflation in Kentucky exceeds the national average, Prices rose 22.1% Between January 2021 and December last year, the average monthly fee per month exceeds $1,000 in the state with the lowest median annual income in the state.

But tax cuts, while popular among many residents, also make it harder for local governments to raise funds for infrastructure investments necessary to promote Corning and Apple’s companies.

“We need to keep the community behind and move it forward. We need to be forward-looking,” Ballard said.

“Some of my grandchildren have left Ohio and elsewhere. I don’t want them to walk away.”