in this story
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that Apple (AAPL+0.02%) We needed a CEO like Tim Cook. success Not as Steve Jobs, the company’s founder, but as he is now.
“If Tim Cook didn’t run Apple the way Steve Jobs ran it, Apple wouldn’t be as successful as it is,” Trump said on an episode of the PBD podcast filmed Wednesday and released Thursday. It would have been,” he said. “I think that’s because I think Tim Cook did a great job, and I’m not criticizing Steve Jobs, but he wouldn’t have done it that way.”
Kind words from the Republican presidential candidate intimate relationship Cook co-raised him during Trump’s presidency. Cook called Trump frequently during his presidency, served on the administration’s Workforce Policy Advisory Council, and hosted Trump at Apple’s campus in Austin, Texas.
In 2019, after Cook successfully persuaded Trump to exempt Apple from a series of tariffs affecting imports from China, talented The president at the time had one of the first Mac Pros manufactured at the new U.S. facility. in interview Trump told Bloomberg News in June that he thought Cook was a “very good businessman.”
“Tim Cook called Donald Trump directly.” President Trump told reporters in August 2019.. “That’s why he’s such a great manager because he calls me and other people don’t.”
President Trump also said in the podcast that Cook called him to discuss the billions of dollars in fines that the European Union imposed on Apple, and that if Cook wins the November election, the European Union will have to deal with U.S. companies. He added that he would not allow anyone to “take advantage” of.
“He called me two or three hours ago,” Trump said, before discussing the EU’s recent actions.
An EU judge ruled in September that Apple must repay the debt. Approximately $15 billion with unpaid taxes. In March, the bloc’s regulatory arm Apple was fined nearly $2 billion. Distribution of music streaming apps like Spotify has been accused of abusing its dominant position. (spot-0.31%) Or your own Apple Music.
“He said they use it to run their business, which means Europe is their business. “I said, ‘That’s too much…but Tim, I have to get elected first, but I’m not going to let them use our company – that’s not going to happen.’
