Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to visit Mar-a-Lago on Friday night to have dinner with President-elect Donald Trump, according to The New York Times. Cook joins a string of other tech leaders who have visited Trump's Florida club in recent weeks.
The top image is from a tour of the 2019 Mac Pro factory in Austin, Texas, with Cook and Trump.
As The New York Times reports:
Mr. Cook and Mr. Trump plan to dine on the terrace at Mar-a-Lago later on Friday, according to two people familiar with the meeting. The two men had a warm relationship during Mr. Trump’s first term — far warmer than Mr. Trump has had with other tech executives such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg or Google’s Sundar Pichai, both of whom have recently dined with Mr. Trump.
This is Cook’s first meeting with Mr. Trump since he was elected last month. Cook met with Trump and earned his praise several times during his first term, and other tech executives are reportedly trying to emulate the strategy in Trump’s second term.
Cook spoke with Trump in October about Apple’s ongoing battles in the European Union. Trump promised Cook that he would not allow the EU to “profiteer” from American companies if he was elected.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump in late November. Google CEO Sundar Pichai met with Trump on Thursday. Trump confirmed that he will meet with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos next week. Trump and Elon Musk have been inseparable for the past few months.
In addition to private dinners with Trump, tech companies are also donating to Trump’s inauguration fund. Meta and Amazon are each donating $1 million to the fund. OpenAI’s Sam Altman is also making a $1 million donation.
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