After iPhone spying report, China suggests Trump switch to Huawei

Image: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

China’s got jokes.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that President Trump insists on sometimes using an unsecured iPhone, according to multiple Trump aides. Since the phone is not secured, it’s likely Chinese and Russian spies can listen into calls, the paper said.

“If they are very worried about iPhones being tapped, they can use Huawei,” China’s Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department, Hua Chunying, said in response to the news, as reported by the Washington Post’s Luna Lin.

Damn.

In case you’re just catching up, Hua’s jab is a reference to Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei, a company that’s finding it increasingly difficult to do business in the U.S.

Due to pressure from Congress over national security concerns raised by U.S. intelligence experts, the Chinese smartphone maker’s plans for U.S. expansion have come to a halt. AT&T and Verizon of a deal with Huawei earlier this year to carry its phones and Best Buy stopped selling the company’s devices. Over the summer, President Trump officially banned all government use of Huawei products.

The Chinese spokesperson also borrowed a favorite phrase of President Trump to dismiss the story, claiming the report that China spies on Trump’s phone is “fake news.”

On Thursday, the morning after the report came out, President Trump denied the accusation that he uses his personal, unsecured iPhone.

“I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!” wrote the President on Twitter.

Perhaps Chinese President Xi Jinping, who Trump says he has a “great relationship” with, will hook the U.S. President up with Huawei Mate P20 Pro and convince him to use it. At this point, when it comes to national security, there probably wouldn’t be too much of a difference between that and the personal phone Trump uses now.