Tim Cook had ‘a good conversation’ with Trump about deescalation
Thoughts, prayers, and saving face.
Thoughts, prayers, and saving face.
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is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out about “the events in Minneapolis” after federal agents shot and killed another protester over the weekend, telling employees that he has shared his feelings with President Trump. In an internal memo reported by Bloomberg, Cook said that “this is a time for deescalation,” and that he had “a good conversation with the President this week where I shared my views.”
Cook was one of several Tech CEOs, alongside Amazon’s Andy Jassy and AMD’s Lisa Su, who attended a VIP screening of Amazon’s $40 million Melania documentary, just hours after Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents. Cook’s attendance sparked a fresh wave of criticism towards his relationship with Trump, something Cook has fostered with donations and golden statues and promises designed to keep Apple in the transactional President’s good books.
Here’s the full text of the memo reported by Bloomberg:
Team,
I’m heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis, and my prayers and deepest sympathies are with the families, with the communities, and with everyone that’s been affected.
This is a time for deescalation. I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity. This is something Apple has always advocated for. I had a good conversation with the president this week where I shared my views, and I appreciate his openness to engaging on issues that matter to us all.
I know this is very emotional and challenging for so many. I am proud of how deeply our teams care about the world beyond our walls. That empathy is one of Apple’s greatest strengths and it is something I believe we all cherish.
Thank you for all that you do.
Tim
Cook is one of several executives to have now spoken out about the heavy immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota, alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei. More than 60 CEO’s from Minnesota’s biggest companies have also signed a statement calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” in the state.
Apple’s Cook, you may recall, is the guy who once defended the company’s environmental and accessibility policies by bluntly telling climate change skeptics to ditch their Apple shares. “If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock,” he said back in 2014. More recently, however, Cook seemed comfortable kowtowing to Trump’s whims to avoid any impact to Apple’s bottom line.
As tech journalist Om Malik observed recently, “[Silicon Valley] used to believe it could change the world. Now it just hopes the world won’t change its stock price.”
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