Jon Swartz

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple plans to build “three big plants, beautiful plants" in the U.S., President Trump said in an interview Tuesday, claiming assurances he received from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“I spoke to (Cook), he’s promised me three big plants — big, big, big,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal in a 45-minute interview. “I said you know, Tim, unless you start building your plants in this country, I won’t consider my administration an economic success. He called me, and he said they are going forward.”

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

Trump did not specify where the plants will be constructed or when they would be completed, but his boast amounted to a political and economic victory in his vow to revive American manufacturing.

More:Foxconn will demand staggering government incentive package to land in Wisconsin

The impromptu announcement was surprising, given the enmity Trump directed toward Apple on the campaign trail for outsourcing production of iPhones and other consumer devices to factories in China. Most of the company's products are assembled by Foxconn Technology Group.

Apple relies on contract manufacturers such as Quanta Computer and Flex Ltd. to make Macintosh computers in California and Texas, respectively. The company employs about 80,000 people nationwide.

Trump told the Journal that Foxconn intends to build a large plant in the U.S., possibly in Wisconsin. Foxconn could employ up to 10,000 in the state, according to published reports.

The Taiwanese-based company could not be immediately reached for comment.

Trump offered advice as to where Americans seeking work in manufacturing will need to move, mentioning Wisconsin, Iowa and Colorado.

Follow USA TODAY's San Francisco Bureau Chief Jon Swartz @jswartz on Twitter.