Apple CEO Tim Cook Attends Executive Tech Summit at Trump Tower

[adamjackson]

Tim does not look happy to be there, the look on his face says it all.

I've seen this comment in a few places and I think it's unfair to judge Tim's thoughts on the meeting by a single photo picked from possibly a hundred photos.

There were moments when Tim was laughing, frowning, coughing or cross-eyed (even for a brief second). It's really easy to pick the one that aligns with the narrative and run with it.

Despite his personal feelings, Tim is a business-man first and he seems to approach every situation with a fresh opinion and open mind and if Trump wants to put more American to work, offer Apple a tax-holiday on their offshore holdings and reduce regulations to allow the iPhone to be made here, Tim would very quickly put aside his personal opinions and do what's best for the shareholders of Apple. I think it's incorrect to judge a single photo on how Tim felt in the entire meeting.

Check Getty, AP, Reuters and other image sites that have photos for sale and I'm sure you'll find another photo of Tim cook smiling.

http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/t...xecutive&excludenudity=true&sort=best#license

 

[RuffyYoshi]

This says it all really...View attachment 678143

*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
"Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation."

 

[Dave245]

I've seen this comment in a few places and I think it's unfair to judge Tim's thoughts on the meeting by a single photo picked from possibly a hundred photos.

There were moments when Tim was laughing, frowning, coughing or cross-eyed (even for a brief second). It's really easy to pick the one that aligns with the narrative and run with it.

Despite his personal feelings, Tim is a business-man first and he seems to approach every situation with a fresh opinion and open mind and if Trump wants to put more American to work, offer Apple a tax-holiday on their offshore holdings and reduce regulations to allow the iPhone to be made here, Tim would very quickly put aside his personal opinions and do what's best for the shareholders of Apple. I think it's incorrect to judge a single photo on how Tim felt in the entire meeting.

Check Getty, AP, Reuters and other image sites that have photos for sale and I'm sure you'll find another photo of Tim cook smiling.

http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/tim-cook---business-executive?family=editorial&license=rm&phrase=tim cook - business executive&excludenudity=true&sort=best#license

This is true, but i'm only going off the photo's i have seen, more precisely that picture, maybe in other's he is smiling and laughing, maybe i'm wrong and he was ok with being there, i was just saying that he didn't look happy to be there in that particular photo.

 

[Jsameds]

Tim to Donald: "let's make America thinner!"

Judging by the out of control obesity epidemic in the US, this isn't actually a bad shout.

 

[swingerofbirch]

We are so lucky to have had the innovative immigrants we have who have made the US their home, and I hope Trump realizes that.

Albert Einsteen was a Jewish refugee.

Elon Musk is from South Africa.

The US's unusual success in the 20th century was in part due to the talent we attracted from around the world, including groups that were maligned at the time (and who still are to some extent). We have not done a good job in electing Trump at sending a message that the US is still the right place for the world's most talented to work. People who come to the US and set down roots are Americans, meaning their success is a shared success.

 

[chfilm]

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Trump Tower along with other prominent tech executives on Wednesday as they gathered in New York for a summit with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who was accompanied by three of his adult children.

According to The New York Times, the meeting was attended by 11 other tech executives, including Alphabet's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, and Tesla's Elon Musk. Vice-President-Elect Mike Pence was also at the table.

Cook sat two seats away from Trump, beside Facebook board member and Trump transition official Peter Thiel, and listened as the president-in-waiting began by heaping praise on the executives in the room.
According to The Wall Street Journal, executives were then invited to introduce themselves one by one.
A number of issues were discussed once the press were ushered out of the meeting room. According to several executives who attended the meet, topics included trade, immigration, and vocational education - the latter being one of the main reasons Cook has previously given for why most Apple products are made in China.

Trump has rebuked Apple in the past for basing the vast majority of it assembly plants in other countries. While campaigning earlier this year, Trump said "we're going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries", while he has also threatened to introduce a 45 percent tax on products imported from China.

According to USA Today, Trump also told executives at the meeting that he planned to slash the corporate tax rate in the U.S. in order to make it a lot easier to repatriate money kept overseas.
The meeting reportedly ran for two hours and included "productive discussions about job creation and economic growth", said incoming White House Chief of Staff Renice Priebus. At the end of the summit, Trump suggested, and tech leaders agreed to, meeting quarterly, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

Cook was a Hillary Clinton supporter during the election campaign and hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic presidential nominee in August on behalf of himself. In a company-wide memo issued following Trump's victory, Cook urged Apple employees to "move forward together" despite "uncertainties ahead".

Despite any personal misgivings he may have had in the past, Cook reportedly stayed at Trump Tower after the summit was over to meet privately with the President-Elect for further discussions.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Attends Executive Tech Summit at Trump Tower

And here they come crawling on their knees, instead of speaking out loud against discrimination and for free speech, freedom of press etc. and who's not even invited? Trumps favorite software company: twitter.

 

[lunarworks]

Say what you want about Trump but he at least is starting to get work done and he hasn't even been sworn in yet. Compare that to Trudeau up here in Canada who has been in power for a year and all he has to show for it are a bunch of selfies from around the world

Trudeau's been out there working on international trade and improving relations, meanwhile Trump's been getting into Twitter wars.

This says it all really...View attachment 678143

Yup. He just spent a couple of hours learning that the economy is going to be run by someone whose only business skill is "getting good deals" and saving his own ass when they go wrong.

 

[jayducharme]

I'm not keen on some of the statements Thiel has made in the past. But I'm hopeful that by bringing together all of the tech titans that have criticized him in the past, Trump is beginning to moderate his original rhetoric and will help the industry continue to innovate.

 

[iReality85]

I'm heartened by this.

In the end, no matter your politics leanings, this is what real adults do. They put aside their differences and come together to get down to business. Let's hope Trump and Big Tech can produce a fruitful relationship that benefits American workers.

EDIT: I see Tim rocked a purple tie. Keepin' it even-handed.

 

[jerry16]

said incoming White House Chief of Staff Renice Priebus

Typo. *Reince

 

[Scarpad]

Did they skype in Vlad?

 

[mantan]

Here in the UK, there is certainly a feeling among my age group (under 25) of wanting politicians to *do* something.

"Let us know what will happen if you win, and then if you win, do what you said."

There's nothing that's happening right now that I feel would have been different if Labour or Lib Dems had won the last general election - other than there wouldn't have been an EU referendum.
[doublepost=1481807774][/doublepost]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have voted for him (if I was a US citizen). However, you can also interpret it to mean "I have ideas, but it would be good to hear ideas from your perspective, too, because you will have thought of things that I might have missed."

Then again, compared to others on this forum, I'm a crazy optimistic.

Ah to be a young naive voter again....

Saying stuff is easy...actually making change is hard.

Our new PE is already moonwalking away from the stuff he said he would do...and he hasn't even been inaugurated yet.

 

[Aluminum213]

Trump is already making America great again, that's for sure

 

[Scarpad]

He hasn't even started yet. And not sure what you're defining as "corrupt".

Give the man a chance and see if he falls on his sword.

Bull crap, if Obama had the Help of Putin like this nimwit did would you still be saying give the man a chance?

 

[Porco]

I'm sure Apple would love it if Trump made decisions and changes that meant they could confidently make more products in the USA.

The problem is, if Trump is only definitely going to be in power for 4 years (maybe 8) it's a hard sell to possibly upset all your overseas suppliers and factories, relationships that have been cultivated and developed over decades in some cases, to make him happy for those 4 years. The deal would have to be so spectacular for Apple that then people would (rightly, in my view) wonder just why one of the world's most valuable companies (who sell inordinately expensive products and are sitting on a cash pile so large that one would require oxygen masks to breathe at the summit) would get to pay almost nothing in tax while ordinary people trying their hardest struggle to make ends meet.

 

[AppleFan360]

I think this is friggin awesome. No matter what you think of Trump, at least he's doing something to bring economic power back to the U.S. If Tim Cook wants to be a ******** that's on him. Trump will simply leave him behind and tax the sh*t of our Apple products coming from China.

I love this shift in power. President Trump is going to lead rather than follow.

 

[newdeal]

Not all Canadians feel this way.

Your right, he is likely working on finalizing his carbon tax so that he can put on last nail in the coffin of all the industry in Canada. Lets just hope GM and the other automakers don't move out of the country because of it. The Oshawa plant is already not planned for any further production past the current model they are making and if the carbon tax comes in (which it will because the Ontario Liberals already have it starting in the new year from what I have heard) not even the union will be able to save it this time

 

[mkeeley]

He looks completely lost. Elon was probably talking about technology.

 

[oftheheavens]

funny, making all these promises on trade and then turns around, 'if you got any ideas on that, that would be great'. Call me sceptical but it seems the man has just confirmed he was full of hot air and now needs these business leaders to bail him out as he himself actually hasn't thought things trough , just promised a lot with no plan....

While I think Trump does have some social issues, he is smart about making money out of debt, which the US has plenty of. He has filled his cabinet with people who also know how to get great deals (sometimes at the expense of others, this time hopefully the expense of other countries) and now he is telling a room of brilliant minds to shoot any great ideas his way. I see this as strong actually. If he had not asked for advice or help from this group then I would think we are in serious trouble and this man doesn't know what America needs. In turn, he knows America needs these top businesses are is willing to hear advice from their leader if for nothing else than to make them feel as though they have a voice.

OOOOORRRrrr this is a huge conspiracy and all the corporations are taking over the government and the world where they would hold it hostage for 1 millllllionn dollars!

 

[newdeal]

I'm sure Apple would love it if Trump made decisions and changes that meant they could confidently make more products in the USA.

The problem is, if Trump is only definitely going to be in power for 4 years (maybe 8) it's a hard sell to possibly upset all your overseas suppliers and factories, relationships that have been cultivated and developed over decades in some cases, to make him happy for those 4 years. The deal would have to be so spectacular for Apple that then people would (rightly, in my view) wonder just why one of the world's most valuable companies (who sell inordinately expensive products and are sitting on a cash pile so large that one would require oxygen masks to breathe at the summit) would get to pay almost nothing in tax while ordinary people trying their hardest struggle to make ends meet.

When it comes to suppliers cash trumps all. Apple already squeezes them for every cent they can get out of their margin, if they move away and then come back they will be welcomed with open arms. That is of course if they can stay in business as all of Apples competitors will be forced to make things in the USA also or face large taxes if what Trump has said is actually followed through with

 

[Kobayagi]

Trump: "You will all meet me in the boardroom and someone will be fired."
Cook Reaction (see photo)

Hahahaha, perfect

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

Tim does not look happy to be there, the look on his face says it all.

Because he's supposed to say "cheese" every time he's near a camera?

 

[Jeremy1026]

I think this is friggin awesome. No matter what you think of Trump, at least he's doing something to bring economic power back to the U.S. If Tim Cook wants to be a ******** that's on him. Trump will simply leave him behind and tax the sh*t of our Apple products coming from China.

I love this shift in power. President Trump is going to lead rather than follow.

That isn't how government is supposed to work. If someone doesn't agree with the government they shouldn't be singled out and punished for it. That is how you end up with a dictatorship.

 

[gnipgnop]

Slashing corporate taxes and handing out a tax holiday on repatriated profits isn't going to do squat for the general economy and the average American. The CBO has decades of data showing that those approaches are very weak when it comes to economic stimulus. Companies put the $$ into profit for the most part. They aren't that interested in spending it on infrastructure, hiring, or increased worker pay when the capital gains tax is so low.

And significantly improved trade deals? Smoke and mirrors. Other countries are predicting that the Trump administration will do what the Bush administration tried to do: attempt to strong-arm people unilaterally without much success. But hey, talking "tough" sounds good on Twitter, so who cares if it's really an effective policy, right?

 

[iapplelove]

He looks completely lost. Elon was probably talking about technology.

I'm a huge Elon fan,this make me lol