- Apple's Tim Cook donates million to Trump's inauguration fund
- Apple has not commented on the matter
- T. Cook’s Trump strategy stands out from Big Tech executives
Apple's Tim Cook donates million to Trump's inauguration fund
President-elect Donald Trump steps into office in two weeks, and support for the inauguration ceremony flows from different sources. Meta has donated one million already. Another massive company, Amazon, contributed another million and plans to stream the event on Prime Video.
CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, personally donated one million to the fund and expressed his eagerness to support new presidents' efforts in advancing AI and the US. General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Toyota Motor North America, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Stanley Black & Decker are contributors[1].
E. Musk has been one of the biggest Trump supporters even before the campaign in 2024 started. He is close with the president-elect. Both have spent New Year's Eve, and E. Musk is the co-leader of the newly made DOGE project that aims to fix corruption issues in the US.
Now, another tech billionaire rushes to support D. Trump. CEO of Apple personally gives a million to Trump's inaugural committee[2]. This is a significant move by another big tech executive who cozies up with the incoming president.
Apple has not commented on the matter
Apple is not likely to contribute to the incoming president’s inauguration, according to a report from Axios on Friday. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, is personally donating the money. Sources told Axios that Cook, who is originally from Alabama, sees the inauguration as an important American tradition and wants to support it in a spirit of unity.
T. Cook has long been active in Washington, believing that engagement with policymakers from both parties is crucial. Rather than staying on the sidelines, he prefers to be involved in shaping discussions.
As one of the biggest contributors to the U.S. economy, Apple is the US's and the world's largest taxpayer. It has been talked about how Tim Cook and Apple spent years building personal rapport with D. Trump. T. Cook found a smart way to communicate with Donald Trump—he focused on just one key issue in each meeting[3].
T. Cook’s Trump strategy stands out from Big Tech executives
According to The Wall Street Journal, T. Cook would come prepared with a single, clear data point to keep the discussion on track and avoid getting sidetracked. Over the years, through well-planned meetings and dinners, Cook built a personal relationship with Trump—something many other business leaders struggled to do.
The connection grew by finding common ground between Apple’s goals and Trump’s agenda, allowing them to have productive conversations. In December, Tim Cook traveled to Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with Donald Trump, joining a growing list of tech leaders who have met with the president-elect in Florida.
Others who made the trip include Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Cook was among the CEOs who congratulated Trump publicly after his 2024 election win.
Cook has a history of engaging with Trump on key issues. In 2017, while Trump was crafting his tax-cut plan, Cook told him that Apple would invest more in the U.S. if it could bring back $250 billion in overseas cash at a lower tax rate. Trump later pointed to Apple as an example while promoting the policy.
One of Cook’s most significant wins came in 2019 when Apple was facing a potential 10% tariff on products imported from China—where most of its devices are made. Cook personally met with Trump, explaining that the tariffs would drive up iPhone prices and give foreign competitors like Samsung an advantage. The Trump administration announced it would scale back the tariff plan, sparing key electronics, including the iPhone, just days later.
