Overview

• At an August 7 Oval Office meeting, Tim Cook presented President Donald Trump with a bespoke Corning glass disc set on a 24-karat gold base made in Utah.
• The gift marked the culmination of Apple’s newly announced $600 billion investment in domestic manufacturing over four years.
• Trump used the event to highlight his trade policy after earlier threatening 25% duties on overseas-made iPhones.
• Online critics and commentators condemned Cook’s gesture as sycophantic, likening it to Soviet-style tribute and urging Apple boycotts.
• Cook’s tribute follows a trend of tech CEOs engaging the administration under tariff pressure, after visits by Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.