Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a private White House screening of a documentary about Melania Trump, and the timing of the event “has seen him facing a vitriolic backlash from critics and customers,” as noted by AppleInsider. And I totally understand, and agree with, the criticism.
“Tim Cook and [Amazon’s] Andy Jassy — and the rest — are accommodating an authoritarian who is presiding over a secret police force killing American citizens,” said David Corn, the Mother Jones Washington bureau chief. “The blood of Renee Good and Alex Pretti is on the hands of those who enable Trump. Hope they like the movie.”
Other people have said they’ll no longer buy Apple products. I’ve repeatedly criticized Cook for kowtowing to Trump. There’s a difference between taking necessary business steps and boot kissing.
It was bad enough that CEO Tim Cook sucked up by presenting him with a a customized plaque with a 24-karat gold base. Last October CNN reported that Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, Comcast and Meta are just some of the major companies who have made donations to build President Donald Trump’s proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom, according to the White House. Trump has repeatedly said that work on the ballroom is privately funded by himself and donors and will cost nothing to taxpayers. And the whole ballroom project is horrible in my opinion. As CNN noted, images of the demolition of the existing East Wing, where the new ballroom will be located, have spurred apoplexy among Trump’s detractors and growing criticism from architectural and preservation groups.
And in November, according to the New York Times, Trump had dinner with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Salman is the world leader who allegedly ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A dinner with he and Trump was held at the White House with several important folks in attenance.That list includes Cook, alongside X’s Elon Musk, Dell’s Michael Dell, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, Paramount Global chief executive David Ellison, Mary Barra of General Motors, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, and FIFA head Gianni Infantino, per the New York Times.
I realize that Cook, as the leader of Apple, has to stay on reasonably good terms with world leaders. But a line should be drawn.
Cook’s efforts to appease Trump may backfire and hurt Apple in the long run.
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