Apple's Tim Cook among tech executives meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday - report

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be among several high-profile tech executives attending a summit with U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, taking place at Trump Tower in New York City, according to a report.




Invitations were sent out last week and less than a dozen people are attending -- mostly executives from Silicon Valley, Re/code sources said over the weekend. Some others include Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Catz confirmed her attendance in a statement.

"I plan to tell the President-Elect that we are with him and will help in any way we can," he said. "If he can reform the tax code, reduce regulation and negotiate better trade deals, the U.S. technology industry will be stronger and more competitive than ever."

Two other possible attendees are Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Of the two, only Bezos is said to have definitely received an invitation, despite his Washington Post regularly publishing exposes of Trump.

Invitations were allegedly sent out by Trump's chief of staff, Reince Preibus, as well as investor and supporter Peter Thiel, and Trump's advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Thiel and others on Trump's team are said to have had a hard time persuading tech executives to attend, given Trump's regular attacks against them during his presidential campaign.

Trump has taken opposing stances on issues like encryption, immigration, and sometimes social issues. With Apple, he has berated the company for not doing more manufacturing in the U.S., and once called on people to boycott Apple after it refused to write software allowing the FBI to bypass encryption on the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.

The Re/code sources suggested that despite their reluctance, some tech executives may have had little choice but to go to the summit, since they've participated in such things before. Nevertheless, others aren't going, whether they're intentionally avoiding Trump or or simply received their invitations too late -- some are only said to have been sent out late last week.

"I think my invite got lost in the mail," an anonymous executive claimed. "Of course, this kind of thing will never happen again as of January."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    "Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Catz confirmed his attendance in a statement."

    Safra Catz is a woman.
    baconstangSoli
  • Reply 2 of 52
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Tim Cook could hardly pass up a chance of trying to educate this naïf. 

    "Mr. Trump, America literally gave up on electronics manufacturing 40 years ago. It wasn't the unions, it wasn't low wages in Asia, it was America's lack of respect for good, efficient design. We lost solid-state radio, television, VCR, camcorder, digital camera and computer manufacturing to Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. That's where the center of gravity has been for two generations. That's the structure in the galaxy of our technology. You can't import a galaxy to our shores. About the only thing we can make here are the cardboard boxes.

    "But we can do the design, the manufacturing and marketing logistics, and the software. Apple has shown that no one else in the world can do that better than we can. That's why we are the most valuable company, yet we have no manufacturing to speak of, only partners. And if we get a cold, you will see the rest of the economy get pneumonia. 

    "Don't mess with our system. It's the best in the world, the most valuable. And we're just getting started."
    edited December 2016 mattinozMacsplosionbaconstangdigitolSolijohnbearwelshdogradarthekatRayz2016iqatedo
  • Reply 3 of 52
    I guess we'll know more on Wednesday... stay tuned.
  • Reply 4 of 52
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    flaneur said:
    Tim Cook could hardly pass up a chance of trying to educate this naïf. 

    "Mr. Trump, America literally gave up on electronics manufacturing 40 years ago. It wasn't the unions, it wasn't low wages in Asia, it was America's lack of respect for good, efficient design. We lost solid-state radio, television, VCR, camcorder, digital camera and computer manufacturing to Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. That's where the center of gravity has been for two generations. That's the structure in the galaxy of our technology. You can't import a galaxy to our shores. About the only thing we can make here are the cardboard boxes.

    "But we can do the design, the manufacturing and marketing logistics, and the software. Apple has shown that no one else in the world can do that better than we can. That's why we are the most valuable company, yet we have no manufacturing to speak of, only partners. And if we get a cold, you will see the rest of the economy get pneumonia. 

    "Don't mess with our system. It's the best in the world, the most valuable. And we're just getting started."
    It would also interesting for Cook to take some Appstore developer payment numbers with him. I suspect they show Apple pays out higher per capta numbers in countries with universal health care. They should be a good indicator that small scale entrepreneurs happen were people only have to bet their house not their health to take a punt on their own idea.
    baconstangrandominternetpersonSoliwelshdogjony0
  • Reply 5 of 52
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    mattinoz said:
    flaneur said:
    Tim Cook could hardly pass up a chance of trying to educate this naïf. 

    "Mr. Trump, America literally gave up on electronics manufacturing 40 years ago. It wasn't the unions, it wasn't low wages in Asia, it was America's lack of respect for good, efficient design. We lost solid-state radio, television, VCR, camcorder, digital camera and computer manufacturing to Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. That's where the center of gravity has been for two generations. That's the structure in the galaxy of our technology. You can't import a galaxy to our shores. About the only thing we can make here are the cardboard boxes.

    "But we can do the design, the manufacturing and marketing logistics, and the software. Apple has shown that no one else in the world can do that better than we can. That's why we are the most valuable company, yet we have no manufacturing to speak of, only partners. And if we get a cold, you will see the rest of the economy get pneumonia. 

    "Don't mess with our system. It's the best in the world, the most valuable. And we're just getting started."
    It would also interesting for Cook to take some Appstore developer payment numbers with him. I suspect they show Apple pays out higher per capta numbers in countries with universal health care. They should be a good indicator that small scale entrepreneurs happen were people only have to bet their house not their health to take a punt on their own idea.
    Ha. Good idea. I know my own ambitious scheming went way up when I could finally get cataract operations when I became eligible through Social Security, i.e., Medicare. It really helps to see well — the 3D is fantastic.

    If the Republicans start messing with health insurace and social security, there's going to be big trouble for them. Apple probably has many ways of giving us sociological data that can be used as leverage.
    tallest skil
  • Reply 6 of 52
    Tim Cook is very intelligent and probably understands manufacturing and the supply chain better than anyone. I don't think Trump realizes what's in store in this meeting.

    Trump thinks that if he throws around a few ideas (like tax changes) that he's going to turn the manufacturing industry around and bring it back to the US. What's really going to happen is Cook is going to educate him (politely) on his stupidity for thinking it would be simple or easy to do. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 52
    Cook is on a mission to make apple great again;)
    cincymac
  • Reply 8 of 52
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Don't underestimate the Donald!

    2017 just might be the year that overseas cash can be returned to the USA! And I don't just mean Apple, but for a whole lot of companies.

    Trump is putting into place extremely friendly business measures, such as lower tax rates and less, business killing regulations!

    singularitygtrtechprod1gyicoco3tallest skil
  • Reply 9 of 52
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    johnbear said:
    Cook is on a mission to make apple great again;)
    Maybe Apple should sell red hats on their website!  :#
    viclauyyc
  • Reply 10 of 52
    edited December 2016
  • Reply 11 of 52
    Tim make sure and sell him some new Macbook pros, he's the perfect customer (not so bright). ;p heh heh heh. 
  • Reply 12 of 52
    If the meeting President Elect Trump had with network executives last month is indicative of the way he intends to begin relations with Silicon Valley, he will have learned nothing from the earlier backlash and Constitutional embarrassment of his illiberal ways.

    unlike with the press, which in his mind and those of his adherents, he has free reign to bully, in many ways Silicon Valley is the cutting edge of technology, and an economic growth engine. This is not something to be taken for granted. It is to be revered and protected, like the press!

    my guess, he will be friendly and accommodating with FANG and company and least on this initial meeting.

    edited December 2016 tallest skil
  • Reply 13 of 52
    So even tech billionaires have to go kiss the ring. Sigh.
    fractallest skil
  • Reply 14 of 52
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    So even tech billionaires have to go kiss the ring. Sigh.
    Meeting with someone whose policies you dislike in no way means you're rolling over for this person. Do you really want Cook and others to treat the next POTUS the way that Mitch McConnell and the other Obstructionists treated Obama? Despite all the wonderful things Obama was able to accomplish to turn this country around he was still hamstrung by people who think the way you do by not wanting any middle ground or communication to be had. That's simply not the right way to proceed.
    radarthekatRayz2016singularityviclauyyctallest skil
  • Reply 15 of 52
    What a waste of time. Cook should have FaceTimed in. 

    Or, perhaps, these CEO calendars are less busy than I thought. 
    tallest skil
  • Reply 16 of 52
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Oh to be a fly on the wall...
  • Reply 17 of 52
    Soli said:
    So even tech billionaires have to go kiss the ring. Sigh.
    Meeting with someone whose policies you dislike in no way means you're rolling over for this person. Do you really want Cook and others to treat the next POTUS the way that Mitch McConnell and the other Obstructionists treated Obama? Despite all the wonderful things Obama was able to accomplish to turn this country around he was still hamstrung by people who think the way you do by not wanting any middle ground or communication to be had. That's simply not the right way to proceed.
    "Not the right way to proceed"? That is a point of view. Many people, both on the Left and the Right, would argue that the 'wrong' way to proceed is precisely what made Obama so ineffectual (although, I'll admit, he was a consequential President), and led to the decimation of the Democrats by the Republicans in this election season. 

    I think that in-your-faceness as a political strategy is still vastly underrated by the Democrats. 
  • Reply 18 of 52
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Soli said:
    So even tech billionaires have to go kiss the ring. Sigh.
    Meeting with someone whose policies you dislike in no way means you're rolling over for this person. Do you really want Cook and others to treat the next POTUS the way that Mitch McConnell and the other Obstructionists treated Obama? Despite all the wonderful things Obama was able to accomplish to turn this country around he was still hamstrung by people who think the way you do by not wanting any middle ground or communication to be had. That's simply not the right way to proceed.
    "Not the right way to proceed"? That is a point of view. Many people, both on the Left and the Right, would argue that the 'wrong' way to proceed is precisely what made Obama so ineffectual (although, I'll admit, he was a consequential President), and led to the decimation of the Democrats by the Republicans in this election season. 

    I think that in-your-faceness as a political strategy is still vastly underrated by the Democrats. 
    You really think that Obama's unwavering desire and attempt to work with others in a democratic republic is really the "wrong way to proceed? That the US is better off when we let fake news, unfounded accusations, FUD, and demagoguery control the nation? That may have won EC votes this time around but long-term that has repeatedly shown not to work.
    frankiefractallest skil
  • Reply 19 of 52
    In politics and other pursuits you choose your battles carefully, keep your powder dry.

    Hopefully not, but at some point, he'll error in a monumental way that will coalesce a credible opposition.

    December 15th is the deadline legally for divesting from his 'emouluent based conflicts'. Is that a Norm or the Law? 

    Law, PEOTUS!
    edited December 2016
  • Reply 20 of 52
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    Many people, both on the Left and the Right, would argue that the 'wrong' way to proceed is precisely what made Obama so ineffectual (although, I'll admit, he was a consequential President), and led to the decimation of the Democrats by the Republicans in this election season.
    I think any mention of Obama's failures also must mention the meeting of Republican leaders at the DC Caucus Room restaurant on inauguration day 2008 to plan their strategy to make Obama a one-term president and to oppose and block him and all Democrats at every turn.  You just can't ignore that.  They didn't prevent his second term  but they undeniably blocked everything they possibly could in a mindless, puerile and wholly un-american way.  Much of what they did over the last 8 years has directly led to the rise of someone like Trump.

    edited December 2016 apple jockeydsdSoliiqatedodewmefrankiefrac
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