Steve Jobs may have been the visionary that brought us touch screen smart phones, but it was the business savvy of Tim Cook that sent Apple’s revenue and stock prices into the stratosphere.
Tim Cook, a quiet Democrat and a strong supporter of L.G.B.T.Q.+ rights and diversity initiatives, went on a charm offensive as he successfully warded off disaster for the company during Trump’s first-term tariff threats in 2016. He vowed to build three big beautiful plants in the U.S. but never followed through as the clock ran out on Trump’s reign.
In January 2025, Cook attended Trump’s second inauguration and donated $1 million, and once again pledged to “spend and invest” $500 billion to expand “support for American manufacturing.” And Trump was pleased, despite the fact the manufacturing of Apple products in the U.S. would take years and cause prices to skyrocket.
But the enactment of new Trump Tariffs threaten to bigly upset the Apple cart, with China showing no signs of backing down to Dear Leader Trump’s trade war. Cook may be hoping for an Apple exemption.
Apple builds the majority of its iPhones in China, despite an effort to move more manufacturing to India. Trump has also placed a 26% tariff on goods from that country as well.
