On Tim Cook and his attendance at the White House.
Om Malik: “Cook is not stupid. He is not evil. He is trapped. The iron clasp of market expectations has turned him into what he never meant to be: a man who goes to parties at the White House while nurses die.”
Nick Heer: “Cook, though? He was there because he wanted to be. […] Renée Good and Alex Pretti both embodied courage. Cook chose fealty and, ultimately, cowardice.”
I very much agree with Nick here. Malik is making excuses for Cook.
@morrick The whole capitalistic system is rot: Cook needs to deliver grow every quarter and maximize earnings for the shareholders BY LAW. If this means to lick the boots of whoever is in charge at the Whitehouse he will do that because he have to, to not risk consequences for the corporation. Do you remember how he was cold with Trump at the beginning and now he personally delivers awards to him and go to parties? He got warned ("I have a little problem with Tim") and fall in line with the others.
@zbrando The question is: Is the bootlicking mandatory for Apple’s growth? I’m not so sure it is. This is why I don’t fully buy the argument that “Cook’s hands are tied”.
Satya Nadella has the same obligations for his company, but I haven’t seen him giving trophies to Trump or engage in proactive bootlicking.
@morrick Bill and Satya were at the Whitehouse with all the big tech bros.
https://www.geekwire.com/2025/heres-what-bill-gates-and-satya-nadella-told-president-trump-at-the-white-house-tech-summit/
The two corporations have different market and priorities and Microsoft is WAY more engaged with the US government than Apple, which is essentially a consumer corp. Microsoft is in a safer position because has ALWAYS collaborate with the government (the last time giving the government the Bitlocker encryption keys of some computers) and have HUGE contracts with it.
@zbrando Look, I’m sure you’ll think I’m being stubborn on this, but I don’t think Apple was on such shaky ground that Cook needed to do what he did. Sure, being outright hostile towards the Trump administration would have probably been unwise, but Cook and Apple could have maintained a more ‘neutral’ stance.
It’s only anecdotal data, but based on the feedback I’ve received via email and private polls with my 200-people closed sample, Apple’s image is quite damaged at the moment.
