- Apple CEO Tim Cook talks about his relationship with President Trump
- Cook reiterates Apple’s commitment to American manufacturing
- We finally know if Cook plans to stay or leave in the short term
Apple CEO Tim Cook is finally opening up about his relationship with the Trump White House and its future — and his answers are likely to encourage some and frustrate others.
Cook, who has worked at Apple for 28 years and been its CEO for 15, opened up in a series of interviews to mark Apple’s 50th anniversary.
Cook isn’t really one for navel-gazing, and neither is Apple as a whole, a point Cook reiterated to me when I spoke to him at the first in-person 50th anniversary celebration at New York’s Grand Central Station.
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But now Cook is pressed into interviews about the past, the present and some controversial topics, including his dealings with the Trump administration, tariffs and whether or not Cook plans to resign as CEO (and possibly install Apple hardware head John Ternus).
In a conversation with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan, Cook did his best to explain his sometimes seemingly friendly relationship with President Donald Trump, who once called Cook “Tim Apple.”
Look on it
Cook attended Trump’s inauguration last year, and in August presented Trump with a 24-karat gold and glass trophy to commemorate the launch of Apple’s American manufacturing program. It featured the glass Apple logo, Trump’s name and Cook’s signature.
Most recently, Cook attended the screening of the documentary Melania at the White House on the same day that U.S. Border Patrol agents shot and killed protester Alex Peretti.
Strahan emphasized this apparent closeness to the administration and the criticism Cook received on this subject. Without directly addressing these criticisms, Cook explained his approach to the Trump White House.
“What I do is I interact on politics, not on politics. I’m not a political person on one side or the other. I’m not political. And so I’m more in the middle, and I focus on politics,” Cook said.
Cook added that he was happy to be able to “talk to the president about politics.”
The distinction Cook makes is important. Instead of focusing on controversial topics, such as the positions taken by the White House on topics like DEI, immigration and the war in Iran, Cook focuses on policy decisions that directly affect Apple and its products.
Whether or not you believe that Cook is essentially apolitical, lives in the middle, and can so perfectly compartmentalize politics, Cook’s statements and actions make his strategy clear.
As Cook told Strahan: “We are a very proud American company and we want to do as much as we can here. » Apple has in recent years shifted manufacturing of some components for iPhone glass and Apple silicon to the United States, although iPhone assembly still takes place outside the United States.
For Cook and Apple, it seems that “politics” is synonymous with “business.” It’s clear that Cook isn’t talking to Trump about the issues of affordable housing, hunger and gas prices. Instead, it laser-focuses on the things that impact your iPhone. MacBooks and iPads.
It’s a narrow view that may not appease all of his critics, but at least Cook has provided some clarity on how he runs a company that, according to its stated values, views business as something that “can and should be a force for good,” while dealing with a U.S. administration that some see as working in the opposite direction.
Cook’s close relationship with the White House could soon be tested. When Strahan asked him about the $3.3 billion in U.S. tariffs Apple paid in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, and whether he wanted to, as some companies do, take legal action to recoup the funds, Cook didn’t exactly say Apple wouldn’t do that.
“Well, we’re monitoring the situation and seeing what the courts decide, and we’ll decide accordingly,” Cook said.
That’s not exactly a no.
Cook will, it seems, have time to realize this. When Strahan asked if he was ready to step back, Cook responded that talk of it was just a rumor and that “I can’t imagine life without Apple.”
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And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube And TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
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