President Donald J. Trump paid tribute to outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday. In a post on Truth Social, the president’s social network, Trump praised Cook in his signature style, calling Cook “Tim Apple” and claiming he called to “kiss my ass.”
Trump applauded Cook’s leadership at Apple, saying he did a better job than Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself would have. And, as is his way, Trump littered the post with capital letters, hyperbole and a fair amount of not-so-humble brags.
Trump pays tribute to outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook
When corporate executives retire, they rarely receive glowing appraisals from a sitting U.S. president. But outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook presided over one of the greatest success stories in business history. He also developed a close personal relationship with Trump over the years.
In retrospect, winning over the president seems like a remarkable display of political jiujitsu. Trump frequently targeted Apple for its overseas manufacturing during his first term, and even called for a boycott of Apple products during his first presidential run.
Cook’s calm approach — and some big Apple investments in U.S. manufacturing — won over the mercurial Trump. After Apple announced on Monday that Cook would step down from the role of CEO, Trump saluted Cook’s achievements during his “amazing” career.
“I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim,” Trump said on Truth Social. (You can read Trump’s full “tribute” to Cook below.)
How Tim Cook cozied up to President Donald Trump
Photo: White House
Over the president’s two terms, Cook cozied up to Trump in several ways, including making big investments in U.S. manufacturing, praising Trump’s policies, giving glitzy gifts and donating to his inauguration fund.
In 2018, Cook personally lobbied Trump against tariffs on China that he argued would benefit Apple’s competitors. Trump carved out a special exemption for the iPhone.
Cook also gave Trump a personal tour of a Mac factory in Texas and promised Apple would invest $600 billion in U.S. manufacturing.
Cook joined Trump’s American Workforce Policy Advisory Board in 2019, acted as an adviser to the White House’s now-defunct Office of American Innovation, and attended a 2025 summit with tech leaders at the White House.
“I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major [$600 billion] investment in the United States,” Cook said during the tech meeting last September. “That says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation.”
.@Apple CEO @tim_cook: "I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major [$600 billion] investment in the United States… That says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation." pic.twitter.com/289vkiB6vy
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 5, 2025
The infamous gold brick
Photo: White House
In August 2025, Cook presented Trump with a personalized, one-of-a-kind trophy constructed of American-made glass and 24-karat gold. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Cook has dined with Trump on several occasions and visited Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump has called Cook a “friend.”
Cook’s approach proved very successful at managing Trump and preventing any political backlash. However, it’s drawn a lot of criticism, especially in contradiction to Cook’s stances on social and environmental issues.
Trump praises Cook on Truth Social
Here’s the full text of Trump’s post on Truth Social, saluting Cook’s time at Apple:
I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim.
For me it began with a phone call from Tim at the beginning of my First Term. He had a fairly large problem that only l, as President, could fix.
Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well. The fees would be paid but the job would not have gotten done.
When I got the call I said, wow, it’s Tim Apple (Cook!) calling, how big is that?
I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to “kiss my ass.”
Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively. That was the beginning of a long and very nice relationship.
During my five years as President, Tim would call me, but never too much, and I would help him where I could.
Years latter, after 3 or 4 BIG HELPS, I started to say to people, anyone who would listen, that this guy is an amazing manager and leader. He makes these calls to me, I help him out (but not always, because he will, on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask!), and he gets the job done, QUICKLY, without a dime being given to those very expensive (millions of dollars!) consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don’t.
Anyway, Tim Cook had an AMAZING career, almost incomparable, and will go on and continue to do great work for Apple, and whatever else he chooses to work on.
Quite simply, Tim Cook is an incredible guy!!!
President DONALD J. TRUMP
Tim Cook will likely continue his role as Trump whisperer
It appears that Cook will remain the public face of Apple in the White House after he transitions to his new role as executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors in September.
“As executive chairman, Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world,” Apple said in a statement.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
