Tim Cook Dines With Trump at Mar-a-Lago
The New York Times
The chief executive of Apple is the latest in a series of technology executives who are traveling to Florida to meet with the president-elect.
Tim Cook held a meeting on Friday with Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, marking the first time that Apple’s chief executive has met with the president-elect since voters elected him to a second term last month.
Mr. Cook and Mr. Trump later dined on the patio at Mar-a-Lago, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. The two men had a warm relationship during Mr. Trump’s first term — much warmer than Mr. Trump’s with other tech executives, like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg or Google’s Sundar Pichai, both of whom recently had their own meals with Mr. Trump.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The meeting offers a chance for Mr. Cook to seek Mr. Trump’s support on several issues that could challenge Apple’s business in the coming years, including pressure on the App Store from European regulators and the potential that new tariffs could put the company’s iPhone business at risk.
Mr. Trump has been receptive to those appeals in the past. During a podcast interview in October, Mr. Trump said he listened sympathetically as Mr. Cook complained to him on a call last month about European regulators who have fined Apple $2 billion for using the App Store to thwart competition.
“I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies,” Mr. Trump recalled telling Mr. Cook. “That won’t be happening.”