Trump says Tim Cook called to 'kiss his a**' in rambling tribute

President Donald Trump said that Apple's Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook, called to "kiss his a**" in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, while congratulating Cook for his illustrious career at Apple. Trump revealed that his "long and nice friendship" with Cook began with a phone call at the start of his first term. "He had a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix," Trump wrote in his post. He added that most people would pay millions of dollars to hire a consultant without any guaranteed outcomes, but not Cook. Trump continued that he was impressed with himself when Cook chose to call him directly and "kiss his a**." Trump said that he resolved his "tough problem…quickly and effectively."

Cook called Trump multiple times, according to the post. The President did not disclose the reasons behind these calls. This is what led him to believe that Cook was an "amazing manager and leader." Trump called himself a big fan of Tim Cook and concluded that Cook had an "AMAZING career" and will go on to do great work for Apple. The post is characteristic of Trump's frosty relationship with Silicon Valley. It is difficult to say whether Trump was mocking Cook or simply expressing his admiration in a roundabout way. Most social media users seem to align with the former rather than the latter.

President Trump has locked horns with Cook on several occasions. Trump expressed displeasure with Cook over Apple's decision to manufacture iPhones in India, demanding that Apple build in the US instead. Cook also reached out to Trump after his decision to impose tariffs on Chinese imports that would have adversely affected Apple.

He had criticized the Trump administration over its decision to renege on the Paris Climate Accords, calling it "wrong for our planet" in a post on X. Furthermore, he defended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program when Trump was reluctant to support DACA recipients in his first term. Trump called for a boycott of Apple in 2016 when the company did not facilitate the decryption of an iPhone of one of the shooters involved in a mass shooting at San Bernardino, California, despite a court order.

Tim Cook recently announced that he will step down as CEO of Apple, one of the largest tech companies, and become its Executive Chairman, Associated Press reported. He was responsible for the development of two new product lines—the Apple Watch and wireless AirPod headphones. The company's market capitalization shot up to $4 trillion under Cook's tenure, up from $350 billion when he took over in August 2011.