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riversedge

(77,278 posts)
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 06:17 PM Aug 7

Tim Cook appeals to Trump's love of gold with a 24-karat base for Apple plaque

Source: USA Today


August 7, 2025 12:22 p.m. ET


Apple CEO Tim Cook presented Donald Trump with a custom-made gift highlighting American manufacturing when visiting the White House.
The gift, a custom glass plaque with a gold base, aligned with Trump's "America First" policies and his love of gold.
Apple announced $100 billion in new U.S. investments.

Apple CEO Tim Cook presented Donald Trump with a custom-made gift highlighting American manufacturing when visiting the White House.
The gift, a custom glass plaque with a gold base, aligned with Trump's "America First" policies and his love of gold.
Apple announced $100 billion in new U.S. investments.


Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/07/tim-cook-trump-gift/85555805007/



I just call it a suck up plaque!!










37 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Tim Cook appeals to Trump's love of gold with a 24-karat base for Apple plaque (Original Post) riversedge Aug 7 OP
Never Apple! BidenRocks Aug 7 #1
adding Apple to the list of "do not buy" after this cadoman Aug 7 #8
All I can think about is the Gold Telephone AT&T gave Batista in Godfather 2. lol CincyDem Aug 7 #2
It was IT&T but that's just nitpicking. mdbl Aug 7 #18
To those who know (and care), nothing about getting any Godfather details right is "nitpicking". CincyDem Aug 8 #25
I think he slighted Trump. It looks like 1/2 a bar of soap. underpants Aug 7 #3
Tim Cook has to go.. In no way has he ever symbolized Apple. I think of him as the West Coast Jack Welch. LiberalArkie Aug 7 #4
You mean Tim Apple, right? BidenRocks Aug 7 #16
How do the kneepads fit, Tim? FakeNoose Aug 7 #5
i will be looking @ installing linux machines and never going back to apple again. AllaN01Bear Aug 7 #6
Oh you people with short memory. It's a "THING" usonian Aug 7 #7
Don't tell El Trumpo. twodogsbarking Aug 7 #9
I sure hope you're right. Apple might be the company that could pull this off. ancianita Aug 7 #12
Here's the good thing. Even if it isn't, my post will spread over the internet, and the jerk is so paranoid, he'll freak usonian Aug 7 #14
Remember the exploding phones in the M.E.? BidenRocks Aug 7 #17
Let him watch the Twilight Zone episode "The Jeopardy Room" with Martin Landau usonian Aug 7 #19
I watched it first run. BidenRocks Aug 7 #23
Glad I never had an Apple iPhone Mr. Evil Aug 7 #10
Used to be a time when bribes were under the table behind closed doors. Now corporate ceremonially ass kisses the felon. ancianita Aug 7 #11
... Marie Marie Aug 7 #13
So close, sooo close to giving the Felon a solid gold phone Buddyzbuddy Aug 7 #15
Well..no way am I switching to an Android jfz9580m Aug 7 #20
Sure, give King WideAss his gold. (it's probably gold plated) LudwigPastorius Aug 7 #21
Cook is reading the room and doing what it takes to protect Apple dlk Aug 7 #22
This is just about business fujiyamasan Aug 8 #24
Yep. And in return for his loyalty on margins, 97% of shareholders voted to support Apple's DEI programs. CincyDem Aug 8 #27
This message was self-deleted by its author CincyDem Aug 8 #31
+1. BTW ... Auggie Aug 8 #35
So he gave Trumpy a couple/ten grand in gold with a logo on it. BFD. CincyDem Aug 8 #26
Well said. Thank you. ancianita Aug 8 #32
I have never seen such widespread ass kissing in my life. Irish_Dem Aug 8 #28
I would not be surprised to wake up someday and find out that Donald Trump has painted some woman gold. gordianot Aug 8 #29
Colbert nailed it... SeattleVet Aug 8 #30
Tim Cook in action Ray Bruns Aug 8 #33
Trump: "The Apple has not always been so good but now Trump likes Tim Apple." tanyev Aug 8 #34
A big wet one eh? Boomerproud Aug 8 #36
Beautifully designed ass kiss. nilram Aug 8 #37
 

cadoman

(1,617 posts)
8. adding Apple to the list of "do not buy" after this
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 08:10 PM
Aug 7

Will be good for the upcoming economic protest.

CincyDem

(7,185 posts)
25. To those who know (and care), nothing about getting any Godfather details right is "nitpicking".
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 03:53 AM
Aug 8



LiberalArkie

(18,789 posts)
4. Tim Cook has to go.. In no way has he ever symbolized Apple. I think of him as the West Coast Jack Welch.
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 06:56 PM
Aug 7

usonian

(19,907 posts)
7. Oh you people with short memory. It's a "THING"
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 07:21 PM
Aug 7

Russia gifted the U.S. Embassy with a beautiful plaque.



It was given the name "The Thing" when, 7 years later, it was discovered to be a listening device.



Invented by the great scientist Leon Theremin (inventor of the Theremin musical instrument)

Here's the story of the device.

https://hackaday.com/2015/12/08/theremins-bug/

Theremin’s Bug: How The Soviet Union Spied On The US Embassy For 7 Years

Technical.
https://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/thing/index.htm
Very advanced technology for Nineteen Freaking Forty Five!!!

Imagine what technology Apple put into the trinket, or, one might say "The Thing".

How smart is Trump and his bunch of ideologue ass-kissing Troglodyte lackeys?
Try ZERO.

Happy listening, Apple.


usonian

(19,907 posts)
14. Here's the good thing. Even if it isn't, my post will spread over the internet, and the jerk is so paranoid, he'll freak
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 08:33 PM
Aug 7

more

Paranoia is its own reward!!

usonian

(19,907 posts)
19. Let him watch the Twilight Zone episode "The Jeopardy Room" with Martin Landau
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 10:05 PM
Aug 7

A Thriller! No spoilers.
It's great.
April 17, 1964.

Mr. Evil

(3,378 posts)
10. Glad I never had an Apple iPhone
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 08:12 PM
Aug 7

or used anything Apple, ever. And this disgraceful groveling is the best example of why I never will.

ancianita

(41,441 posts)
11. Used to be a time when bribes were under the table behind closed doors. Now corporate ceremonially ass kisses the felon.
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 08:25 PM
Aug 7

That there is a menaceocracy.

Buddyzbuddy

(1,357 posts)
15. So close, sooo close to giving the Felon a solid gold phone
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 08:51 PM
Aug 7

Ala GODFATHER II. The telephone company giving El Presidente de Cuba said solid gold phone, just before he was run out of the Country by the rebels led by Castro.

jfz9580m

(15,799 posts)
20. Well..no way am I switching to an Android
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 10:45 PM
Aug 7

I just hate Google too much. Tim Cook leaves me cold as always.

My IPhones were too expensive to discard anyway ..damn price gougers.

It’s a good thing I never use products from these creeps on any basis but “okay this is the least creepy thing on offer”. It’s not like Pichai doesn’t do his due diligence re being the sub in the Trump-tech creep sub-dom relationship.

50 shades of grey with Trump and the tech creeps! In the ultimate irony, no doubt a Trump-supporting tech company will churn out an obvious farce like that using shitty AI.

This does go to show that all that wealth and power really does come with a huge psychological price tag..when you have to be polite about Trump.

I am not American (usually don’t declare that since I don’t want MTG to witch-hunt EarlG and Elad as in collusion with foreign threats . To make things worse my state here in the Global South is one of the few communist states here and legitimately quite corrupt and awful..though that’s really all politics here).

I went to school in America and was married to and still am close friends with an American. That was when I found DU. Those days you didn’t go to a gulag for having a political opinion as a non-American. But even then I was aware of the MTG mentality.

But I self-deported in 2014 due to my precog abilities (kidding-about the precog part. The universal disinhibition of these times makes me forget that a satirical tone may not be convey itself via text. Don’t want to smear DU as a haunt of people who believe in precogs
;-/).

.And now my country here in the Global South is reeling under hideously high tariffs. I am wondering how it will all affect my pocketbook. Not well is my educated guess..

LudwigPastorius

(13,243 posts)
21. Sure, give King WideAss his gold. (it's probably gold plated)
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 11:20 PM
Aug 7

If it keeps his grubby hands off Apple's DEI policies, I'm all for it.

dlk

(12,876 posts)
22. Cook is reading the room and doing what it takes to protect Apple
Thu Aug 7, 2025, 11:25 PM
Aug 7

Do I agree with it, no. However, I understand what Cook is doing to survive in these unprecedented, and treacherous times. Ultimately, with a break on tariffs, consumers will get a break on prices, as well.

fujiyamasan

(573 posts)
24. This is just about business
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 03:15 AM
Aug 8

Apple got screwed over on the India tariff situation, after investing a lot over there. And if the semiconductor tariff goes through, that’s going to make it very expensive for them as well.

His ultimate loyalty is going to be to the shareholders. If kissing Trump’s gigantic ass makes it a little easier to keep up their margins, that’s a win as far as he and the board are concerned.

CincyDem

(7,185 posts)
27. Yep. And in return for his loyalty on margins, 97% of shareholders voted to support Apple's DEI programs.
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 04:17 AM
Aug 8

Win-win.

Response to fujiyamasan (Reply #24)

Auggie

(32,512 posts)
35. +1. BTW ...
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 08:51 AM
Aug 8

what choice does one have when they loathe Microsoft? Apple products, while insanely expensive, always work well for me.

CincyDem

(7,185 posts)
26. So he gave Trumpy a couple/ten grand in gold with a logo on it. BFD.
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 04:12 AM
Aug 8

He also said this in the face of WH pressure on DEI programs. What some may call pandering, I call it doing the superficial shit it takes to run a business while sticking to core principles. One of the stronger corporate DEI statements around at a time when most companies were going slash and burn.

Just something to consider before we throw him under the bus for “getting down on his knees” to Trump …a slur that’s about as non-DEI as it gets, especially when directed at a gay man.

“As the legal landscape around this issue evolves, we may need to make some changes to comply, but our north star of dignity and respect for everyone and our work to that end will never waver.”

ancianita

(41,441 posts)
32. Well said. Thank you.
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 06:41 AM
Aug 8

I'll always prefer Apple products, which offer greater personal security than any other brand of phone, hardware, or OS. I gave up PC's in 2007 and have never looked back.

The ongoing security problems our govt has are the result of its mentality of ongoing purchasing of PC systems.

Irish_Dem

(73,311 posts)
28. I have never seen such widespread ass kissing in my life.
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 04:25 AM
Aug 8

It is disgusting and nauseating to watch.

Damn the American people for falling for Trump's BS.

gordianot

(15,655 posts)
29. I would not be surprised to wake up someday and find out that Donald Trump has painted some woman gold.
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 04:32 AM
Aug 8

Maybe Melania should be worried.

tanyev

(47,542 posts)
34. Trump: "The Apple has not always been so good but now Trump likes Tim Apple."
Fri Aug 8, 2025, 08:49 AM
Aug 8
Not an actual quote. As far as I know.
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