Apple's Tim Cook Trump's favorite tech CEO, here's why
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who runs the world's second-most valuable company, has a fan in the White House, President Trump.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 227.18 | -1.82 | -0.80% |
"Others go out and hire very expensive consultants, Tim Cook calls Donald Trump directly," said the president while taking questions from reporters as he departed the White House on Wednesday.
Cook recently tapped the Oval Office, according to Trump, to raise concerns about the sting of tariffs against Apple but not its big South Korean rival.
"The problem was that Samsung, a good competitor, wouldn't be paying tariffs and Tim Cook would. I've got to help him out short term with that problem" explained the president. "It's a great American company, Samsung is in South Korea," he noted. Trump first discussed the Samsung vs. Apple situation earlier this week, yet it is unclear how the administration is assisting, if at all.
Last week the tech CEO and Trump had dinner, according to a tweet in which Trump hinted that the company, with $211 billion in cash, will be "spending vast sums of money in the U.S. Great!"
Apple is among America's many companies that have committed to reinvesting in the country following the passage of Trump's historic tax reform plan. In January 2018 Apple, the nation’s largest taxpayer, announced that it would invest over $350 billion in the U.S. economy over the next five years due to the tax changes. The maker of iPhones and iMacs also expects to pay $38 billion in taxes, which would be the largest payment of its kind, Apple stated at the time. The tech giant joined the likes of Home Depot, AT&T and Walmart, all of which rolled out employee incentives after the first major tax reform, America's first in about 30 years.
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Inquires by FOX Business to Apple were not returned at the time of publication.
Apple shares have gained over 33 percent this year, exceeding the 16 percent run in the S&P 500.
While Cook is apparently the only tech CEO to call the president directly, Trump said he would still take calls from any others.
Suzanne O'Halloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and is a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on Twitter @suzohalloran