Tim Cook attends Trump’s first state dinner

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tariffs
Tim Cook sat down to dinner with Donald Trump, along with dozens of other politicians and CEOs.
Photos: White House/Apple

President Donald Trump held his first White House state dinner tonight since moving into the Oval Office, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was on the guest list.

The left-leaning Cook might have felt very much in the minority. Trump didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to the dinner, but arch-conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch was in attendance.

Still, Cook brought Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, with him. As former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, she’s an old hand at formal events.

The White House state dinner was in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron. He and the U.S. president are discussing trade issues this week. Specifically, Macron wants an EU exemption to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.

Tim Cook is a busy man

In addition to leading Apple, Cook is the public face of the company. A company whose market capitalization is close to $1 billion.

Just within the past few weeks, Cook gave a tour of Apple’s new California headquarters to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also took part in commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. And he still had time for a very public spat with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

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