Claims China orchestrated global magnet 'conspiracy' 20 years ago

During a press conference at the White House with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Trump went on a bizarre tangent about magnets, claiming China had orchestrated a two-decade conspiracy: 'China intelligently went in and they sort of took a monopoly of the world's magnets. Nobody needed magnets until they convinced everybody 20 years ago, let's all do magnets.' He threatened a '200 percent tariff or something' if China didn't supply magnets to the U.S. The rant came amid real trade tensions over rare earth minerals, but Trump's framing—that China 'convinced' the world to use magnets through some kind of plot—bore no relation to reality. Magnets have been essential to technology for over a century, from electric motors to speakers to hard drives. Rolling Stone documented Trump's history of magnet confusion, noting he had 'labored under the misunderstanding that magnets are somehow destroyed by water for at least 18 months.'

"Nobody needed magnets until they convinced everybody 20 years ago, 'let's all do magnets.'" — White House press conference with South Korean President, August 25, 2025