In a high-stakes balancing act, Apple CEO Tim Cook is rejecting political labels while aggressively aligning his company with the Trump administration’s “America First” economic agenda.
Highlighting a massive $600 billion investment in U.S. operations, Cook defended his closeness to the White House as a necessary pursuit of pro-growth policy — even as he faces a firestorm from the left over his participation in the documentary “Melania” screening.
“You were at the inauguration last year, a few steps from the president. You gave him a nice gift at the White House. You were at the screening of ‘Melania,’ the documentary for the First Lady. There are so many people. [who] say you’re very close to the administration, and you’re getting criticized for that,” “Good Morning America” co-host Michael Strahan told Cook during an interview about Apple’s 50th anniversary.
“Well, what I do is I interact on politics, not on politics,” Cook responded.
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“I’m not a political person on one side or the other. I’m not political. And so I’m more in the middle, and I focus on politics,” the CEO continued. “And so, I’m very happy that the president and the administration are accessible to talk about policy.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, August 6, 2025. (Getty Images)
Apple has openly worked with President Donald Trump to restore critical supply chains and move away from overseas dependence, aiming to secure a “made in America” future that protects against the volatility of global trade. Cook then discussed the activities of the leading technology company A commitment of 600 billion dollars to the national economy over the next four years.
“If you look at your iPhone today, the front cover and the back cover, all that glass is going to come out of Kentucky by the end of this year. The engine, the system on a chip, we’re going to make over 100 million of them in Arizona this year,” Cook said.
“We’re going to make over 20 billion semiconductors in the United States. And again, that’s not just for iPhones sold in the U.S. market, but for iPhones around the world,” he added. “We’ve invested more in the United States, absolutely. We’re a very proud American company and we want to do as much as we can here.”
As Apple approaches its 50th anniversary on April 1, Cook also took the opportunity to put to rest rumors that he is preparing to resign as CEO.
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“I didn’t say that,” he clarified. “It’s a rumor going around.”
“Here’s the way I look at it: I deeply love what I do. 28 years ago, I joined Apple, and I’ve loved it every day since…I can’t imagine life without Apple.”
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