Apple CEO Tim Cook Donating $1 Million to Trump's Inaugural Fund

[HiRez]

I know Cook is doing what he thinks is right for the company, even though this is technically a personal donation. I get soulless corporate ghouls like Musk and Zuckerberg doing it, but shame on you, Tim Cook. You're a successful CEO, congrats on that, but you have no principles. I lost a lot of respect.

 

[icanhazmac]

I haven't proven your point. I've pointed out that your response was exactly whataboutism. I also pointed out that a person is to be judged on their own actions, and not be excused because the actions of someone else were also reprehensible.

/sigh

So you proved my point by not at least acknowledging my point that those complaining (from one side only) here don't acknowledge the corruption from their own side, they only point out the perceived corruption from "the other".

Had TC contributed $1 million to 46's inauguration fund, how many complaining in this thread would have done so then?

I clearly addressed my concerns about "whataboutchulism" in my previous post, but you chose to ignore that and try to make it the focus, ignoring all the facts I referenced.

At least I am willing to acknowledge the field is dirty, regardless of side, others are not, and proclaim their side "free of sin" when it is clearly not. Glass houses, stones and such.

Is 47 the best representation of the values I vote for? No. Was 47 the best chance at furthering the issues I vote for, yes. Our system is flawed, no doubt, but it is better than most. If you one doesn't think so, move to Iran or North Korea.

The willingness to acknowledge the shortcomings of your side is part the path to bipartisanship, centrism, etc. If you cannot acknowledge the shortcomings of your team, you are part of the problem.

 

[dampfnudel]

Gross. 🤮 Hope that buys Apple a lot of favors.

Apple is a business that needs to keep investors happy and greasing the wheels that make that happen can be a dirty job. Maybe Tim will clarify that in his autobiography someday describing his personal disgust at paying that million to Trump, but felt like it was in Apple’s best interest at the time.

 

[dampfnudel]

I know Cook is doing what he thinks is right for the company, even though this is technically a personal donation. I get soulless corporate ghouls like Musk and Zuckerberg doing it, but shame on you, Tim Cook. You're a successful CEO, congrats on that, but you have no principles.

I know the optics look bad, but you have to understand his perspective to some degree. Maybe a million from him and other CEOs who have a vested interest in continuing manufacturing in China can help put Trump’s tariff plans for China on the back burner.

 

[LionTeeth]

He was and will be again the democratically elected president of the country. Maybe Cook just… supports him? He’s allowed to. Heck most people support him given the election results. Despite the misguided hatred, it’s perfectly allowed. No law against it.

Maybe relax and try to see the good in people you don’t like.

 

[LionTeeth]

I know the optics look bad,

Why do the “optics” look bad?
Because trump isn’t on your side of the spectrum? Would you say it looks bad if he donated to Harris had she won?

 

[Naraxus]

Tim Cook and Donald Trump are a match made in heaven. They both believe that taxpayers' money shouldn't go towards programs that help those taxpayers (such as universal healthcare), but rather should be donated to morbidly rich people and corporations.

The people who defend Cook for giving customers less for their money because he has a "fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders," are very similar to the people who defend American private healthcare insurance CEOs for murdering 68,000 of their paying customers every year by denying them coverage because those CEOs (and their defenders) think the greatest moral good is for CEOs to fulfill their fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders.

Your histrionics aside, that's not at all what both men believe.

 

[Naraxus]

I'm 40+ year old guy from Finland.

Then your opinions on where and what my US taxes go towards, and thoughts on the matter are irrelevant and are of no concern to me.

 

[JoshuaBru]

Tim Cook and Donald Trump are a match made in heaven. They both believe that taxpayers' money shouldn't go towards programs that help those taxpayers (such as universal healthcare), but rather should be donated to morbidly rich people and corporations.

The people who defend Cook for giving customers less for their money because he has a "fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders," are very similar to the people who defend American private healthcare insurance CEOs for murdering 68,000 of their paying customers every year by denying them coverage because those CEOs (and their defenders) think the greatest moral good is for CEOs to fulfill their fiduciary duty to maximize profits for shareholders.

Cute. You buy products made by Foxconn using what amounts to slave labour where working conditions were so bad they had to install suicide nets. Save us the moral high ground rant. You’re a privileged entitled consumer like the rest of us. Have some self awareness.

 

[burgman]

What’s wrong with Timmy and the things he stands for? He has a spine of a jellyfish when it comes to money.

His fiduciary responsibility is to shareholders, he and all the tech bros paying a million bucks know a con man when they see him. None of them gave Biden anything because he isn’t a pay to play clown. Given Trump’s age and decline only thing worse is President Vance 🤦

 

[turbineseaplane]

Speaks for itself

So gross

 

[I7guy]

Speaks for itself

So gross

Good, Biden should have done more to protect American tech.

 

[Naraxus]

Speaks for itself

So gross

What about this: https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/kamala-harris/contributors?id=N00036915&src=c

 

[theinstructor]

wow. Trump just made 5 billion off his truth social media. he transferred it into a trust.

Democrats and unity do not fit in the same sentence structure. They want something and it is NOT unity.

 

[theinstructor]

He's buying Trump’s favor. That’s how dictatorships works. Disgusting.

I think they are scared to death of being taxed for once and paying “their fair share”. Or is it like Joe Biden and Hunter Biden’s meetings with China and Ukraine in exchange for “donations” to his son. Which is it?

 

[NewOldStock]

Amid that, here is a full list of the tech company CEOs who have contributed to the inauguration fund of Donald Trump.

Tim Cook (Apple): Donated $1 million.

Mark Zuckerberg (Meta): Donated $1 million.

Andy Jassy (Amazon): Donated $1 million.

Sam Altman (OpenAI): Donated $1 million.

Dara Khosrowshahi of (Uber): Donated $1 million.

Uber as a company also contributed an additional $1 million, making the total from Uber-related sources $2 million.

It's common for US presidents to raise funds for their inauguration ceremonies. These funds, managed by a Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), cover expenses for events such as the inaugural parade, balls, and other related activities. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) oversees the funding of these inaugural committee activities.

Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration set a record by raising $107 million, nearly double the previous record.

 

[NewOldStock]

https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/inaugural-events/

 

[MacAddict1978]

It's called paying for vaseline so you don't get screwed without it when he imposes Tariffs - because Trump can also impose Tariff's with exemptions for a specific company or product type.

Way to get on your knees Tim. How are those core values Apple claims to have looking these days?

 

[NewOldStock]

Just the way Business works for many many years.
Inaugural donations nothing new.
You want the Newly in charge to use tax payers money for some of this>?
Birthday boy pays for his own party? Not how it works.
Every 4 year this happens in the USA for New Elected President.
Some history to be learned.
Both side of the parties donate.
Congratulations of sorts believe it or not.
Crooks on both sides work the same.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/26/politics/trump-inauguration-corporate-donors/index.html

 

[Dutch60]

There are estimates in EV circles that if we went green we would save xxx thousands life per year from cancer and what not due to pollution. We'd reduce our medical bills as well.

Does that mean oil company execs are murdering people? That's exactly how that post was stupidly framed.

Thank you, but now you are only comparing; I don’t see any “proof” of your “framed in such an inflammatory way that it is probably separated from the facts”. Facts are different?
The definition of “murder” as I read it, is: “the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another”
Healthcare CEO’s who know customers are dying because of not granting access to care, for reasons of profit.
Profit over lives.
Same with oil company execs who know results of their business (beside profits). (direct) profit over (longterm) lives.
Technically (according to definition), this is not murder, because it’s legal (!). And I think that’s the problem. It’s all officially legal (so not “unlawful”). And there, political leadership could step in and change things. But that doesn’t happen. On the contrary, and that’s the biggest problem.

 

[sir1963nz]

Zero respect for this move.

 

[avz]

It's called paying for vaseline so you don't get screwed without it when he imposes Tariffs - because Trump can also impose Tariff's with exemptions for a specific company or product type.

Way to get on your knees Tim. How are those core values Apple claims to have looking these days?

It is a two-way street.

Looks like after his first term Trump finally realized that being an outsider to the "system" is a liability and not an asset. Essentially what we are seeing is that Trump lost the battle with the "system" and is forced to make concessions to the "system" by conspiring with the "digital kids".

 

[MacFarmer]

Let’s call it what it is, it’s a bribe. Maybe not in the legal sense, but in a “go easy with the antitrust stuff” sense.

I'm just surprised he thinks that 1 million is enough.

 

[MJaP]

This would appear to be a case of "Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer", at the end of the day Tim is playing the long game for Apple's future welfare, the amount is just a token in the grand scheme of things, and Tim knows that Trump will be gone in 4 years and can never return as president again, so he can wait him out, Apple has seen presidents come and go over its lifetime.

 

[MacHeritage]

This is nothing more than Bizzare... Trump hates anyone who is Gay or Transgender, for an openly gay man such as Tim Cook to donate to a criminal is BIZZARE what is wrong with america.. i mean really.

This might already have been said but Trump likes them, not hates them and I've never heard or seen anything from Trump about hating them. Ever heard of Gays for Trump? or Log Cabin Republicans? They support the Donald and the bids for President. Melania Trump also hosted the Log Cabin Republicans last year. I know of people who wish Trump was like you say he is but he isn't and they are disappointed with that.

If anyone has proof to the contrary, please share.