Apple CEO Tim Cook Attends White House Dinner With Saudi Crown Prince

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a White House dinner that U.S. President Donald Trump arranged for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, reports The New York Times.

The dinner marked Prince Mohammed's first visit to the United States since the October 2018 murder of author and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency determined that the prince ordered the killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Ahead of the dinner, U.S. President Donald Trump defended the prince and said "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about," when responding to a question from a reporter that asked about Khashoggi.

Cook previously met Prince Mohammed in April 2018 to discuss education and app development opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Apple has since invested $2 billion in Saudi Arabian companies, and Cook last visited the country in December 2024.

Apple launched an online store in Saudi Arabia in July 2025, and it plans to open retail locations in the country in 2026.

Other tech attendees included X CEO Elon Musk, Dell CEO Michael Dell, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Linda Su.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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 White House Dinner With Saudi Crown Prince

 

[CocktailHour]

And he survived? Guess he's not a journalist.

 

[racer1441]

Back to the Khashoggie garbage.. The news is just like a hamster wheel going round and round.

 

[kagharaht]

So disgusting Apple.... so disgustingly bad...

 

[azentropy]

This is another reason why I think Cook with stay around until the end of the Trump administration. Let Cook take the heat of sucking up rather than carry it over to a new CEO.

 

[sw1tcher]

Tim Cook's like "Ugh! Another trip to the White House. Retirement cannot come fast enough."

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Is it just me or does photograph look like AI? I know it’s not, it just looks weird.

 

[DJTaurus]

As he should! And he is not the only one! Thank you Mr Cook ❤️

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991190958172487781

 

[ItsASpider]

"Yeah, I mean he killed a journalist and this president openly defends it, but consider this: I left my spine at home!"

 

[Mactech20]

Quick, everyone lose your minds! A CEO is going to the White House to represent his company!

(Make sure you downvote this as clearly it is a very egregious comment)

 

[Reverend Benny]

As he should! And he is not the only one! Thank you Mr Cook ❤️

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991190958172487781

View attachment 2580961

Whats up with Elons moon boots?

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Tim Crook doing Tim Crook things.

 

[Etc_]

 

[VisceralRealist]

So much of being a CEO is ring-kissing. When the money is that good, I guess it comes easily. 🤷‍♂️

 

[ItsASpider]

Quick, everyone lose your minds! A CEO is going to the White House to represent his company!

(Make sure you downvote this as clearly it is a very egregious comment)

Quick, make a ridiculous comment to paint everyone who doesn't agree with me as stupid!

There is no real need to go to the White House to represent your company. At least, there shouldn't be, but these CEOs have made it so that it has become a necessity under Trump. If you're not going to kiss Trump's ass, his administration will come after you and your company. They enabled him.

You know what, let's assume that there is an actual reason to go to the White House to represent your company. Fine. What reason is there to keep donating millions to Trump? What reason is there to give him made up awards just to stroke his ego?

 

[rhinosrcool]

Back to the Khashoggie garbage.. The news is just like a hamster wheel going round and round.

Yeah, he was dimembered with a bone saw. The CIA said the prince was the orchestrator of the killing. But, what the hell? Trump wants more money and doesn't care who gets hurt.

 

[rhinosrcool]

**** Cook!

 

[Corefile]

Absolutely shameful.

 

[Squozen]

“President Donald Trump defended the prince and said "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about," when responding to a question from a reporter that asked about Khashoggi.”

I’d be very careful about using that argument, Donald.

 

[jole]

There is no real need to go to the White House to represent your company. At least, there shouldn't be, but these CEOs have made it so that it has become a necessity under Trump. If you're not going to kiss Trump's ass, his administration will come after you and your company. They enabled him.

There shouldn't be, but now that US voters chose kleptocracy, being a CEO in a top-10 tech company this is your disgusting duty.

 

[bookcase]

I’ve lost all respect for this man over the course of the past year, and I was a staunch defender. There’s working with an administration, and then there’s ditching your moral compass altogether and sucking up at every opportunity you can get. It’s not just him, but I expected more from him.

 

[cale508]

Quick, everyone lose your minds! A CEO is going to the White House to represent his company!

(Make sure you downvote this as clearly it is a very egregious comment)

Downvoted as you requested!

 

[votdfak]

I was banned here few days back because of my Cook Trump comment. Like Trump said today about Khashoggi "Things happen." Disgusting.

 

[matthew12]

Can we please stop doing business with the country that housed most of the perpetrators of the fateful day in 2001?

 

[justanotherdave]

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Cook really only has two choices.

- Attend these dinners/meetings to hear first hand about what the administration is doing.
- Don’t attend and be kept in the dark about upcoming changes that could adversely affect your company.

Anyone who thinks Cook supports Trump and what he stands for is delusional.