Senator Warren asks if Apple CEO Tim Cook's Trump playbook is blatant corruption

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in General Discussion edited April 24

It's no secret that Apple and other big tech companies have been making moves to earn President Trump's favor, but Senator Warren wants details on these interactions to determine if lines were crossed.

Aerial view of a circular building surrounded by trees, featuring a rainbow stage in the center. Foreground includes a letter addressed to Tim Cook from the U.S. Senate.
Senator Warren sends Tim Cook a letter



President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs have been a rollercoaster for the economy. After failing to get the desired results and markets dived, Trump backed off his initial tariffs and redoubled efforts against China while providing exemptions that unilaterally helped Apple.

It seems, these exemptions were provided, at least in part, due to Apple CEO Tim Cook calling President Trump -- which was confirmed. That, along with donations, in-person dinners and events, and more, has led Senator Warren to write a letter, obtained by Bloomberg.

Warren lists Cook's dealings with Trump and suggests they create "the appearance of impropriety." She asks for Cook to respond with information about "your attempts to influence Trump Administration officials."

Apple and Cook are not obligated to provide any information on these communications. The letter itself appears to be more of a formality than anything, as Senator Warren and others making accusations of corruption would need to open an official investigation to find it.

The letter on its own does nothing except bring light to the actions of big tech to win favor with the Trump administration.

The letter doesn't address that Cook and others are playing by a playbook set by the administration, but does point out the dealings with tariffs and exemptions that were made in the first term. Companies that aren't attempting to win favor are being punished more, which Warren does point out, as smaller businesses can't make the same deals as mega-corps.

The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips.



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  • Reply 1 of 35
    cambercamber Posts: 28member
    While nothing is guaranteed 'Senator Warren' doesn't know anything worth knowing about Apple if she thinks Tim Cook crossed the line as regards the laws of the United States.
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  • Reply 2 of 35
    iOS_Guy80ios_guy80 Posts: 948member
    Why doesn’t she spend her time looking for corruption at the executive level where this whole mess  began. Tim Cook is just trying to somehow alleviate the negative impact of Tariffs sometjkng Warren should be doing instead of sitting on the sideline being bullied.
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  • Reply 3 of 35
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,182member
    If it has anything to do with the  Oval Office, of course corruption is involved.
    Maybe not 'blatant', but yeah.
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  • Reply 4 of 35
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,354member
    This was not corruption.  Tim Cook was executing his fiduciary responsibilities to Apple as a publicly traded company (and I should add to the benefit of America and its economy) to stop the madness of this economic policy.

    Even if one agrees with the need to rebalance trade with China, Liberation Day was poorly executed and only brought more harm to the US than benefit.

    Agree with others here, Warren needs a new playbook.  

    Corporate America is not always evil.  Everyone that has a retirement plan had a stake in making this policy get moderated.  Unfortunately long-lasting harm occurred with stocks, the bond market and the dollar dropping simultaneously.  Other countries learned not to depend on us or trust us for the longterm.
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  • Reply 5 of 35
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 283member
    Warren is a career politician. I’m sure she’s very familiar with corruption. 
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  • Reply 6 of 35
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,161member
    The level of stupidity among all positions of government is pathetic.  

    Tim Cook has also worked with the Biden administration too.  Why didn't she scream "corruption" back then too?
    AnObserversocalbrianstompySiTimeiOS_Guy80tiredskillsjrfunkjibsnapjackbaconstang
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  • Reply 7 of 35
    snookiesnookie Posts: 160member
    For you trump and apple apologists whining, what Warren is asking is are bribes expected in order to influence trump.  Which obviously they are.  It's not complicated.  He is an obvious criminal and traitor.
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  • Reply 8 of 35
    snookiesnookie Posts: 160member
    davidmalcolm said:
    It’s clearly extortion. If the Democrats are unhappy with Apple doing what it takes to keep from getting wiped out by the spray tanned dementia patient. Maybe they should have tried actually governing during Biden’s term?

    the Democrats are mad that America is burning down but they were happy to roast marshmallows on the walls during Biden’s term. The Republicans are clearly the worse of the two parties. But America had no political parties that haven’t completely normalized corruption. Heck Biden’s team was all gung-ho on crypto. Something that’s terrible for the environment objectively worthless, and which serves to make it easier to commit financial crimes. 
    Everything you said is wrong.  Google Biden and crypto.  They regulated it and prevented risky and fraudulent activities with it.  Trump got rid of all that.  It's pretty well known.  Google is your friend.
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  • Reply 9 of 35
    snookiesnookie Posts: 160member

    sflocal said:
    The level of stupidity among all positions of government is pathetic.  

    Tim Cook has also worked with the Biden administration too.  Why didn't she scream "corruption" back then too?
    Strange the obvious has to be explained to you.  Because Biden didn't require bribes.
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  • Reply 10 of 35
    snookiesnookie Posts: 160member

    iOS_Guy80 said:
    Why doesn’t she spend her time looking for corruption at the executive level where this whole mess  began. Tim Cook is just trying to somehow alleviate the negative impact of Tariffs sometjkng Warren should be doing instead of sitting on the sideline being bullied.
    Once again explaining the obvious.  Warren is clearly not sitting on the sidelines being bullied.  Including in the article you are commenting on.  Google is your friend.  I will even help you.  Just google warren and trump.
    fastasleepiOS_Guy80tiredskillssnapjackbaconstangmknelsondewme
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  • Reply 11 of 35
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    AppleInsider said:

    The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips. 

    This makes no sense. Apple is vulnerable to tariffs on the finished products with are assembled in China, and shipped to the US. Not Apple silicon chips which are made in Taiwan, shipped to China, assembled into the devices which are then shipped from China to the US. Apple silicon chips are not shipped to the US, at least not en masse or as consumer products.
    jib
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  • Reply 12 of 35
    Wesley_Hilliardwesley_hilliard Posts: 458member, administrator, moderator, editor
    fastasleep said:
    AppleInsider said:

    The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips. 

    This makes no sense. Apple is vulnerable to tariffs on the finished products with are assembled in China, and shipped to the US. Not Apple silicon chips which are made in Taiwan, shipped to China, assembled into the devices which are then shipped from China to the US. Apple silicon chips are not shipped to the US, at least not en masse or as consumer products.
    The whole point of tariffs, according to Trump sometimes, is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. So, if Apple has to import parts like semiconductors, then it's going to get hit with a tariff. If it builds overseas and imports, it's hit with a different tariff. So, there is effectively no way to avoid a tariff.

    Doesn't seem like a good strategy.
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  • Reply 13 of 35
    SiTimesitime Posts: 51member
    zeus423 said:
    Warren is a career politician. I’m sure she’s very familiar with corruption. 
    Unless the definition of “career politician” has changed recently, that is false. She is not a career politician. She was first elected to political office at the age of 63. She spent the majority of her career in academia. Which… I know “academia” is also a word that will trigger some people’s feelings.
    edited April 23
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  • Reply 14 of 35
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member

    The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips. 

    This makes no sense. Apple is vulnerable to tariffs on the finished products with are assembled in China, and shipped to the US. Not Apple silicon chips which are made in Taiwan, shipped to China, assembled into the devices which are then shipped from China to the US. Apple silicon chips are not shipped to the US, at least not en masse or as consumer products.
    The whole point of tariffs, according to Trump sometimes, is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. So, if Apple has to import parts like semiconductors, then it's going to get hit with a tariff. If it builds overseas and imports, it's hit with a different tariff. So, there is effectively no way to avoid a tariff.

    Doesn't seem like a good strategy.
    Oh, sure — but nobody is moving manufacturing over to the US, at least not anytime soon — especially with the way Trump waffles and folds like he's got multiple personalities fighting over who has the most ill-formed trade policy.

    But the article specifically says that because of semiconductor tariffs, "soon Apple may be hit" due to its Apple Silicon chips, when it's really Apple's finished products which ship from China that are affected. Not Apple silicon chips, which would ship from Taiwan which has its own separate set of tariffs,  or semiconductors in general from China as nothing is being assembled here in the US now. 
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  • Reply 15 of 35
    Wesley_Hilliardwesley_hilliard Posts: 458member, administrator, moderator, editor
    fastasleep said:

    The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips. 

    This makes no sense. Apple is vulnerable to tariffs on the finished products with are assembled in China, and shipped to the US. Not Apple silicon chips which are made in Taiwan, shipped to China, assembled into the devices which are then shipped from China to the US. Apple silicon chips are not shipped to the US, at least not en masse or as consumer products.
    The whole point of tariffs, according to Trump sometimes, is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. So, if Apple has to import parts like semiconductors, then it's going to get hit with a tariff. If it builds overseas and imports, it's hit with a different tariff. So, there is effectively no way to avoid a tariff.

    Doesn't seem like a good strategy.
    Oh, sure — but nobody is moving manufacturing over to the US, at least not anytime soon — especially with the way Trump waffles and folds like he's got multiple personalities fighting over who has the most ill-formed trade policy.

    But the article specifically says that because of semiconductor tariffs, "soon Apple may be hit" due to its Apple Silicon chips, when it's really Apple's finished products which ship from China that are affected. Not Apple silicon chips, which would ship from Taiwan which has its own separate set of tariffs,  or semiconductors in general from China as nothing is being assembled here in the US now. 
    IIRC the tariff will apply to products using semiconductors too, not just the semiconductors themselves.
    jib
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  • Reply 16 of 35
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member

    The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips. 

    This makes no sense. Apple is vulnerable to tariffs on the finished products with are assembled in China, and shipped to the US. Not Apple silicon chips which are made in Taiwan, shipped to China, assembled into the devices which are then shipped from China to the US. Apple silicon chips are not shipped to the US, at least not en masse or as consumer products.
    The whole point of tariffs, according to Trump sometimes, is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. So, if Apple has to import parts like semiconductors, then it's going to get hit with a tariff. If it builds overseas and imports, it's hit with a different tariff. So, there is effectively no way to avoid a tariff.

    Doesn't seem like a good strategy.
    Oh, sure — but nobody is moving manufacturing over to the US, at least not anytime soon — especially with the way Trump waffles and folds like he's got multiple personalities fighting over who has the most ill-formed trade policy.

    But the article specifically says that because of semiconductor tariffs, "soon Apple may be hit" due to its Apple Silicon chips, when it's really Apple's finished products which ship from China that are affected. Not Apple silicon chips, which would ship from Taiwan which has its own separate set of tariffs,  or semiconductors in general from China as nothing is being assembled here in the US now. 
    IIRC the tariff will apply to products using semiconductors too, not just the semiconductors themselves.
    Well, yes, that's true, but that's not the same thing as a tariff on items that happen to have semiconductors in them, right? The "not exemption" buckets that are paused right now (or however you want to describe it) applies to semiconductors but also personal electronics of all kinds, if I understand it. But when those "not exemptions" expire either way, it's the iPhone or Mac or HomePod product and its wholesale value (not its retail price, as many articles get wrong) that's tariffed, not the chip or other components inside of it or the value of those things. 

    This is getting pedantic, so I'll drop it. :)
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  • Reply 17 of 35
    Wesley_Hilliardwesley_hilliard Posts: 458member, administrator, moderator, editor
    Moderation note: Do not attack Senator Warren as a person on here. Yes, I'm aware of her nonsense, but it doesn't have anything to do with the topic at hand. Also, China is not a country with a third world economy and I wouldn't classify its workforce as "slave labor." This is just insulting and unnecessary for the topic at hand.

    We can have a conversation about these things without resorting to extremes and insults. Like, it is perfectly fine to say you believe the tariffs are necessary and that getting manufacturing out of China is a good thing. You can even say that it'll be difficult for America to compete with the incredibly inexpensive labor available in China and India.

    There's no need to put additional, non-factual, qualifiers on these things that do nothing except ramp up the rhetoric and arguments.
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  • Reply 18 of 35
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,695member
    snookie said:
    It’s clearly extortion. If the Democrats are unhappy with Apple doing what it takes to keep from getting wiped out by the spray tanned dementia patient. Maybe they should have tried actually governing during Biden’s term?

    the Democrats are mad that America is burning down but they were happy to roast marshmallows on the walls during Biden’s term. The Republicans are clearly the worse of the two parties. But America had no political parties that haven’t completely normalized corruption. Heck Biden’s team was all gung-ho on crypto. Something that’s terrible for the environment objectively worthless, and which serves to make it easier to commit financial crimes. 
    Everything you said is wrong.  Google Biden and crypto.  They regulated it and prevented risky and fraudulent activities with it.  Trump got rid of all that.  It's pretty well known.  Google is your friend.
    The current Democrats at the top are interested in just getting along most do not want to really fight see Chuck Schumer for an example of a current Democrat at the top just wants to get along like General George B. McClellan……
    edited April 24
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  • Reply 19 of 35
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 1,434member
    Trump collected over one-quarter of a billion dollars in donations--$239 million to be exact--just for his inauguration. And here's some context:

    Obama 1: $53 million
    Obama 2: $43 million 
    Trump 1:   $107 million
    Biden:       $61 million
    Trump 2:   $239 million

    Notice a pattern? For his second inauguration, Trump raked in almost as much money as Obama 1&2, Trump 1 and Biden inaugurations put together! Hmmmm, let's see, any sign of corruption there? What would pay-to-play look like on an unprecedented gargantuan level? This is blatant, unapologetic corruption out in the open on an industrial scale. It's essentially a "For Sale" sign hanging in the Oval Office. And Elizabeth Warren is wondering aloud if "a line" was crossed?! How about today's news that the $trump meme coin shot up 70% for a time, and closed up 30%, based on news that big investors in it were getting invited to a private dinner with Trump. Any whiff of corruption there? Any suggestion that you could get private, personal access to the President for an evening if you invest a bunch of money in a meme coin that almost entirely benefits Trump? I mean, Christ, why even bother with these charades at this point and just set up a White House Venmo that goes directly to Trump's bank account?

    Unfortunately for America, corruption is the least of our worries with this lunatic in charge. Between shredding the Constitution, tanking the economy and reducing our government to rubble, we have WAY bigger problems that demand our full attention and energy. 
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  • Reply 20 of 35
    zimmermannzimmermann Posts: 360member
    Indeed, in most democratic countries this money giving process during elections would be seen as outright corruption. 
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