I'm pretty sure Teddy Roosevelt and Tim Cook were referring specifically to MacRumors user comments.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Explains His Relationship With Trump
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What's next - Tim Apple changing Donnie's diapers in exchange for reduced tariffs?
throAU
macrumors G4
He’s a pragmatist.
He/you may not like the current US administration, but it is what it is.
He can work within its confines, or he can go broke.
He/you may not like the current US administration, but it is what it is.
He can work within its confines, or he can go broke.
I am taking the liberty to add an authenticity enhancing tag to your quote:
“I like Mac Cook a lot I think he’s a helluva guy - spectacular - I think he’s going to do great things and we can expect a tremendous outcome and it’ll be extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule.”
TruthAboveAllElse
macrumors 6502a
A much more coherent response than the poorly worded snafu last time. And Tim is right, people do have hardened views, refuse to engage, and on top of that celebrate their refusal to engage.
Abazigal
Contributor
The very same people who are upset that Apple is dragging their feet over implementing the demands of the DMA in the EU are probably also the same people who are upset that he isn't doing more to oppose the incumbent US government.
In the former, opening up iOS and allowing developers to skirt around the App Store would not be in Apple's financial interests, given how lucrative the Apple ecosystem is, and how much money is transacted in the App Store every day. It therefore makes sense to me that Tim Cook would want to resist caving in for as long as possible, or at least until he figures out how to capitulate while giving up as little as possible, profits and control-wise.
In the latter, you either oppose Trump and be slapped with hefty tariffs, or you stay on his good side, and maybe even get his help to try and fight the DMA in some manner.
I don't live in the US, though I understand that Tim Cook does not exist to fight anybody's political battles for them. If you are hoping that any new CEO at Apple would have a change in approach, I wouldn't hold my breath. At best, he's a product guy that doubles down on making the familiar hardware that you all knew and loved while fixing the software bugs, but I don't see any new direction in terms of dealing with global political issues.
BaldiMac
macrumors G3
I don't expect him to fight political battles or avoid engaging with the administration. I simply expected him to follow Apple's own policy and not bribe the president to avoid illegal tariffs.The very same people who are upset that Apple is dragging their feet over implementing the demands of the DMA in the EU are probably also the same people who are upset that he isn't doing more to oppose the incumbent US government.
In the former, opening up iOS and allowing developers to skirt around the App Store would not be in Apple's financial interests, given how lucrative the Apple ecosystem is, and how much money is transacted in the App Store every day. It therefore makes sense to me that Tim Cook would want to resist caving in for as long as possible, or at least until he figures out how to capitulate while giving up as little as possible, profits and control-wise.
In the latter, you either oppose Trump and be slapped with hefty tariffs, or you stay on his good side, and maybe even get his help to try and fight the DMA in some manner.
I don't live in the US, though I understand that Tim Cook does not exist to fight anybody's political battles for them. If you are hoping that any new CEO at Apple would have a change in approach, I wouldn't hold my breath. At best, he's a product guy that doubles down on making the familiar hardware that you all knew and loved while fixing the software bugs, but I don't see any new direction in terms of dealing with global political issues.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
BaldiMac
macrumors G3
Yes. Even in countries where bribes are customary.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
Well since Tim Cook is up and about and not charged with bribing a public official I’m guessing this “bribe” was legal.
BaldiMac
macrumors G3
We’ve already had the same discussion. I was just answering your question about the existing policy.
Whilst understanding his position it seems such a tragedy that leaders of business and even many countries feel they cannot speak to truth.
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I7guy
macrumors Westmere
And similarly I was pointing out the nuance of said discussion.
TruthAboveAllElse
macrumors 6502a
“It ain’t a crime if you ain’t been charged”, doesn’t seem too nuanced to me.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Karl Bode with a scathing piece on Tim Cook that is relevant here, and I agree with all of it.
karlbode.com
His description of Apple now is spot on also:
a hugely profitable, popular monolith that offers semi-interesting iterations of once-elegant hardware, helmed by yet another formless, shapeless bobblehead, too beholden to the mindless pursuit of impossible scale to demonstrate any sort of coherent ethical backbone.
Tim Cook Is An Embarrassing Coward
Apple CEO Tim Cook represents soulless, rudderless contrition, unburdened by consistent ethics or any sort of overt moral compass, desperate to delude you into believing that fascism can be a reasonable partner open to meaningful dialogue.
karlbode.com
His description of Apple now is spot on also:
a hugely profitable, popular monolith that offers semi-interesting iterations of once-elegant hardware, helmed by yet another formless, shapeless bobblehead, too beholden to the mindless pursuit of impossible scale to demonstrate any sort of coherent ethical backbone.
ThomasJL
macrumors 68020
What an insightful and accurate article! The article's author, Karl Bode, is totally correct in every point he made.Karl Bode with a scathing piece on Tim Cook that is relevant here, and I agree with all of it.
Tim Cook Is An Embarrassing Coward
Apple CEO Tim Cook represents soulless, rudderless contrition, unburdened by consistent ethics or any sort of overt moral compass, desperate to delude you into believing that fascism can be a reasonable partner open to meaningful dialogue.
His description of Apple now is spot on also:
a hugely profitable, popular monolith that offers semi-interesting iterations of once-elegant hardware, helmed by yet another formless, shapeless bobblehead, too beholden to the mindless pursuit of impossible scale to demonstrate any sort of coherent ethical backbone.
During the Obama presidency, Apple SJW-CEO Tim Cook promoted a lot of woke nonsense like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg-style feminism. Cook would publicly virtue signal about his corporate feminist policies at Apple. But during the Trump presidency, Cook repeatedly gives large sums of money and expensive gifts to Trump, who raped a 13-year-old girl at a Jeffrey Epstein party, raped other underaged girls at Epstein parties, and bombed a girl's school in Iran which killed at least 168 schoolgirls.
As with every American president since 1981, Obama and Trump have the neoliberal economic policy of Reagan, aka Reaganomics, which is why Cook cozied up to the both of them. Neoliberalism is socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor. That is what Cook strongly supports because it benefits him and his shareholders enormously while simultaneously destroying the middle class and lower class.
But Trump is even worse than Obama because Trump also has a policy of fascism. Cook's recent interviews have been trying to do some damage control, but Cook's support of a fascist should never be forgotten. Cook needs to be forever remembered as a villain who supported a man who was known for years for being a fascist.
Bode wrote the following near the end of that article:
That's precisely why I have no hope in John Ternus, who is rumored to become the new Apple CEO after Cook retires.
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Alameda
Contributor
Apple products would cost 30% more if Tim Cook didn’t do his little dance with the White House.
Switzerland gave him a Rolex clock and he cut their tariffs by half.
This Karl Bode sure likes to cover up the hollownes of his piece by inflamed words. Unfortunately he comes off as quite single minded, too blinded by his rage to comprehend what is being said in the interview.Karl Bode with a scathing piece on Tim Cook that is relevant here, and I agree with all of it.
Tim Cook Is An Embarrassing Coward
Apple CEO Tim Cook represents soulless, rudderless contrition, unburdened by consistent ethics or any sort of overt moral compass, desperate to delude you into believing that fascism can be a reasonable partner open to meaningful dialogue.
His description of Apple now is spot on also:
a hugely profitable, popular monolith that offers semi-interesting iterations of once-elegant hardware, helmed by yet another formless, shapeless bobblehead, too beholden to the mindless pursuit of impossible scale to demonstrate any sort of coherent ethical backbone.
The piece reads to me more like a pop-magazine's food critic's review of a fancy restaurant that his pallate was not trained to understand...
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
Not going to even click. It’s clickbait and it goes to show you can always find an opinion on the internet that matches yours.
ThomasJL
macrumors 68020
At the time of this posting, there has so far been no evidence released showing that Tim Cook was in the Epstein files. But why does Cook go out of his way even more than other Silicon Valley CEOs to meet with Trump and Trump's associates like Melania Trump and Howard Lutnick?
Epstein was know for secretly video recording powerful people in his homes having sex with sex trafficked girls/women and sex trafficked boys/men in order to have leverage to blackmail those powerful people if needed at some point in the future.
Trump has his puppets running the FBI and DOJ, which is why those organizations have not yet released anything in the Epstein files showing that Trump had sex with underaged girls in Epstein's properties. The point is that Trump has the power to hide what he wants to hide in the Epstein files by making sure that anything indicting him is not released. And that may mean Trump also has the power to hide evidence in the Epstein files incriminating other people.
So could the reason why Cook has been meeting with Trump and also Trump's associates even more than other Silicon Valley CEOs who met with Trump, and giving Trump millions of dollars as well as highly expensive gifts (like the 24-karat gold participation trophy) be because Cook is trying to have Trump hide any connection Cook may have had to Epstein?
Of course Cook met with Trump on one or two occasions because it would benefit Apple and Apple shareholders. It's not justifiable, but it's understandable. But Cook doesn't just stop there. He goes above and beyond that and meets with Trump even more, and also with Trump's associates like Melania Trump and Lutnick.
Cook's meeting with Trump, Melania Trump, and Lutnick shows that Cook is morally bankrupt. Therefore, since Cook has proven himself to be a Machiavellian who lacks a moral compass, while no evidence has been released showing Cook engaging in any Epstein-related activities, it wouldn't be surprising if there was evidence that that Cook engaged in Epstein-related activities, and therefore Cook has been actively going out of his way to bribe Trump more than most other Silicon Valley CEOs have done.
I'm not accusing Cook of having interacted with Epstein, but it would be absolutely unsurprising if he did. As the Epstein files have so far shown, a disproportionately high number of people in the Epstein files are Silicon Valley CEOs. In public, such Silicon Valley CEOs have virtue signaled support for left-wing causes like women's rights, anti-racism, etc. But in private, those same Silicon Valley CEOs have no qualms having a friendship with a pedophilic, sex-trafficking, rapist, white supremacist and Jewish supremacist racist, eugenicist, far-right, neoliberal demon like Epstein.
Epstein was know for secretly video recording powerful people in his homes having sex with sex trafficked girls/women and sex trafficked boys/men in order to have leverage to blackmail those powerful people if needed at some point in the future.
Trump has his puppets running the FBI and DOJ, which is why those organizations have not yet released anything in the Epstein files showing that Trump had sex with underaged girls in Epstein's properties. The point is that Trump has the power to hide what he wants to hide in the Epstein files by making sure that anything indicting him is not released. And that may mean Trump also has the power to hide evidence in the Epstein files incriminating other people.
So could the reason why Cook has been meeting with Trump and also Trump's associates even more than other Silicon Valley CEOs who met with Trump, and giving Trump millions of dollars as well as highly expensive gifts (like the 24-karat gold participation trophy) be because Cook is trying to have Trump hide any connection Cook may have had to Epstein?
Of course Cook met with Trump on one or two occasions because it would benefit Apple and Apple shareholders. It's not justifiable, but it's understandable. But Cook doesn't just stop there. He goes above and beyond that and meets with Trump even more, and also with Trump's associates like Melania Trump and Lutnick.
Cook's meeting with Trump, Melania Trump, and Lutnick shows that Cook is morally bankrupt. Therefore, since Cook has proven himself to be a Machiavellian who lacks a moral compass, while no evidence has been released showing Cook engaging in any Epstein-related activities, it wouldn't be surprising if there was evidence that that Cook engaged in Epstein-related activities, and therefore Cook has been actively going out of his way to bribe Trump more than most other Silicon Valley CEOs have done.
I'm not accusing Cook of having interacted with Epstein, but it would be absolutely unsurprising if he did. As the Epstein files have so far shown, a disproportionately high number of people in the Epstein files are Silicon Valley CEOs. In public, such Silicon Valley CEOs have virtue signaled support for left-wing causes like women's rights, anti-racism, etc. But in private, those same Silicon Valley CEOs have no qualms having a friendship with a pedophilic, sex-trafficking, rapist, white supremacist and Jewish supremacist racist, eugenicist, far-right, neoliberal demon like Epstein.
Let's take your logic a step further. Scott Forstall is a Silicon Valley exec. Perhaps he was fired because he was caught red handed with Epstein. There may be no evidence but perhaps, just maybe, perhaps... I am not accusing him, but it would be absolutely unsurprising... In private...who knows...
That's really what you are going with?
***Added Context not in original post***
I can't stand Trump and his band of misfits either. My problem is shaming/accusing Cook for doing his job. Jobs met with Obama (who I liked, but some didn't).
Abazigal
Contributor
In other words, you just typed up a whole bunch of words to ... say essentially nothing at all. 🙃
ThomasJL
macrumors 68020
There is no evidence showing that Scott Forstall has ever met with a convicted felon. There is plenty of evidence that Tim Cook met with a convicted felon, namely Donald Trump. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May 2024. Cook's many meetings with Trump happened after Trump was already convicted of 34 felonies.
I was deeply disappointed that Jobs met with Obama because Obama is a war criminal. But the difference is that it's resonable to expect most people to not know that Obama is a war criminal because the U.S. media didn't publicize that. Also, Obama wasn't convicted of any crimes (although he should be, but that's besides the point). Trump, however, was convicted of 34 felonies, and the U.S. media widely pubclicized that. So Cook has no excuse for not knowing. He did know, and he didn't care.
Also, there is no photographic evidence of Obama ever meeting with Epstein. But there are photos and videos showing Trump meeting with Epstein. Epstein was a convicted sex offender. Trump met with Epstein on numerous occasions, and Cook has no excuse for not knowing that. He did know, and he didn't care.
Jobs met with Obama and did the bare minimum to the same extent that other tech CEOs did in that meeting. But Cook has met with Trump on many occasions, going out of his way by donating large sums of money to Trump, attending his screening, and meeting with Howard Lutnick who was widely reported to have a close and regular connection to Epstein and partied with him.
Cook's actions with Trump show Cook is morally bankrupt. Therefore, I am not saying I believe Cook had any involvement with Epstein because I have no idea if he did or not since, as I said in the very first sentence of my previous post, "there has so far been no evidence released showing that Tim Cook was in the Epstein files." What I am saying is that it would be throughly unsurprising if Cook was involved with Epstein because Cook's actions with Trump has already proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that Cook is morally bankrupt. I'm also saying that if Cook happened to have a connection to Epstein, then it wouldn't be surprising that Cook has ingratiated himself so much with Trump and Trump's Epstein-connected associates (like Melania and Lutnick) because Trump has already proven he has the power to hide things in the Epstein files from ever being released.
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Everything you said about Trump is factual. The rest is you pushing your narrative. Cook didn't meet with Donald the Felon, he met with the sitting US President, like him or not, to do his job. I don't know Cook, but look at what he has done the rest of his life. He has shown to be nothing but a stand up individual and good leader.
Obama a war criminal...🙄🤣. Yet another accusation with no facts.
On another talk track...I wonder if the Artemis II crew that visited the White House this week took the Epstein files into space for Trump and dumped the evidence out the window. After all, they knew he was a felon and Epstein associate. /s
ThomasJL
macrumors 68020
I’m guessing someone who would disagree with that is the woman who Trump raped twice at Epstein’s parties when she was 13 years old, telling her before he raped her that he was sexually aroused because she looked like his daughter.
And that is the kind of man that Tim Cook chooses to associate with.
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