Apple CEO Tim Cook gifts President Trump gold & glass plaque

In addition to the announcements to expand US investments to $600 billion, Apple CEO Tim Cook provided a piece of Gorilla Glass and a golden stand to President Donald Trump to commemorate the news.

Apple has been playing the appeasement game with the current US administration as a part of CEO Tim Cook’s playbook for dealing with Donald Trump. So far, it’s worked, as donations, in-person dinners, events, and an even bigger investment may lead to tariff exemptions.

The appearance went as you’d expect, with Cook standing off to the side off camera while President Trump listed what he believes are new accomplishments, despite already having been announced. First, Cook showed off a commemorative plaque, then after Trump rambled about things like the price of eggs for about ten minutes, Cook was invited to provide remarks.

An all-American desk ornament

The plaque itself is a piece of circular Corning glass with an Apple logo carved out of the center. It has text written on it, but it isn’t legible in the video. Tim Cook’s etched-in signature is obvious.

A Corning Gorilla Glass ornament set in gold sourced from Utah

There’s a base to the plaque too that’s made of 24K gold from Utah. Even the box is made in the United States.

The plaque was designed by a retired Marine that works at Apple. The use of gold obvious given towards Trump’s affinity for it, as can be noted by all of the gold trim seen around the Oval Office.

Cook’s live reading of the press releases

Cook’s remarks are basically a live reading of Apple’s press release peppered with broad compliments for the presidency’s commitment to the United States and American jobs. He did note that Apple’s new $100 billion investment was a result of Trump challenging Apple to do more.

“Earlier this year, we broke ground on a new factory in Houston to make advanced AI servers,” Cook said. “And just last month, the very first test unit rolled off that factory’s line proudly made in America.”

“President Trump shared some kind words about that work, but he also asked us to think about what more we could commit to doing,” Cook continued. “Mr. President, we took that challenge very seriously.”

“I’m glad to be here with you today, and I’m very proud to say that today, we’re committing an additional 100 billion to the United States, bringing our total U.S. investment to 600 billion over the next four years,” Cook added.

President Trump talks at Apple CEO Tim Cook

Other notable moments include a compliment for Apple building new factories and facilities that have their own power supply external to the grid, like Apple Park. Trump inadvertently congratulated Apple’s green energy efforts, even though the administration has rolled back nearly all of the adoption programs for clean energy production.

Cook is playing the long game

The awkward press briefing shows that Apple’s leadership is capable of doing what it takes to deal with the controversial administration. Cook’s playbook for dealing with Trump can be viewed as capitulation, but diplomacy is necessary to keep from taking the hit of additional billions in costs thanks to the current US trade policy.

One effect of the renewed US investment commitment was immediately felt during the briefing. President Trump shared that the expected semiconductor tariffs would be 100%, but that companies that are committed to building in the US would be exempt.

While Trump didn’t name Apple directly, it was heavily implied that it would get an exemption.

Apple doesn’t import many semiconductors outside of finished goods, so it’s not clear what impact the exemption will have.

Apple will announce the iPhone 17 in September, and after $2 billion in expected losses in in total to tariffs through Q4, Apple is looking for savings where it can. While exemptions help, Apple isn’t totally immune from the chaos being caused in global markets by US policy, so price raises could still be necessary.

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