Tim Cook joins big tech leaders for Trump's inauguration

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Apple CEO Tim Cook and many other big tech CEOs have been spotted at one of Monday's inauguration events that heralds Donald Trump becoming President of the United States for the second time.

A person with short gray hair and glasses, looking slightly to the side, surrounded by others indoors.
Tim Cook at St. John's Church - Image Credit: BBC



The United States will see the installation of Donald Trump in the role of President for the second time on Monday. For some of the more well-heeled members of society, they will see the event from close range.

While the 47th presidential inauguration itself will happen later in the day, other elements of the inaugural celebrations have already taken place. In the morning, Trump attended a service at St. John's Church, alongside an entourage of company heads and major figures in the business world.

The attendees at the church included Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google head Sundar Pichai, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. Other major figures spotted at the church by the BBC include former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Elon Musk, SpaceX and Tesla chief and lined up to assist Trump by heading up the "Department of Government Efficiency," was also spotted. Musk reportedly spent close to $300 million assisting Trump's campaign.

Shou Zi Chou, chief of TikTok, is anticipated to be at the event, following insistence by Trump's administration that it is safe from the law banning the social app in the United States. Uber's Dara Khoshrowshahi and OpenAI's Sam Altman are also expected to be in attendance.

Cook's continued Trump relationship



Cook's attendance at the inauguration isn't entirely unexpected, given his dealings with Trump in the past. During the first Trump administration, Cook worked to communicate with the President.

Amid the meetings and dinners, Cook advised Trump over his handling of Chinese import tariffs to minimize the effects on Apple. He also talked about government waste in 2017, and made light of Trump's "Tim Apple" gaffe.

This led to Trump praising Cook in August 2019 as a "great executive" due to communicating so regularly with Trump. "Others go out and hire very expensive consultants," Trump said at the time. "Tim Cook calls Donald Trump directly."

With Trump at the head of the metaphorical U.S. governmental table once again, Cook has started the charm offensive once again.

Cook's attendance at the inauguration was confirmed on January 15, following his personal $1 million donation to the event. He also publicly congratulated Trump on his electoral win on social media, and has already attended a dinner with him.

Trump has also publicly claimed that Cook committed to Apple increasing its investment in the United States, after securing the top U.S. job again.

Given the playbook from the previous term, it's hard not to imagine Cook spending even more time in Washington D.C. and becoming one of Trump's biggest allies once again.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    The dramatic photos hahahaha I can't 


    watto_cobrasconosciuto
     1Like 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 7
    M68000m68000 Posts: 910member
    The dramatic photos hahahaha I can't 


    But doesn’t Tim look like this most
    of the time?   I’m not saying it’s good or bad,  just how he is.
    watto_cobrajeffharrisdmskalnm
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 7
    byronlbyronl Posts: 382member
    It was interesting to see Cook sit next to Zuckerberg lol 
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 7
    Corporate compilation….. bending the knee, for greed
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 7
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 685member
    geomac25 said:
    Corporate compilation….. bending the knee, for greed
    You have obviously never owned or run a business. You can run solo and die and play nice and know what is going on and possibly sway decisions. Doing nothing screws the shareholders who own the company. His obligation is to the shareholders who voted him into the CEO position. The best, but not necessarily the one you want, outcome is what everyone is aiming for. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 7
    jimh2 said:
    geomac25 said:
    Corporate compilation….. bending the knee, for greed
    You have obviously never owned or run a business. You can run solo and die and play nice and know what is going on and possibly sway decisions. Doing nothing screws the shareholders who own the company. His obligation is to the shareholders who voted him into the CEO position. The best, but not necessarily the one you want, outcome is what everyone is aiming for. 
    I would argue his obligation is to the company, not to the shareholders. Remember his quote, "I don't consider the bloody ROI"? At least according to his public persona, doing the right thing, and the company's prosperity in the long term, is more important than whatever the shareholders are clamoring about in the moment.

    He may be bending the knee outwardly, but I believe he's doing it to protect the company. I wouldn't presume he feels one way or another about it. Tim took care of the company the first time around, and I believe he will do so this time as well.
    muthuk_vanalingam
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    Years of mismanagement pay off ... now he has to kiss the ring and grovel on his knees. It's his fault, that Apple hasn't managed in time to move out of the US.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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