Apple CEO Tim Cook
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Former President Trump claims Apple CEO Tim Cook recently called him to complain about the billions of dollars the EU has fined the company.
The former president previously referred to Cook as “Tim Apple” and in March 2024 said Apple should unlock the shooters' iPhones because of “foreign apps.” But he now says Cook called him at some point after news broke that the EU had ruled that Apple owed Ireland $14 billion in taxes.
“Two hours ago, three hours ago, he [Cook] called me,” Trump said on the PBD podcast. “He said the European Union just fined us $15 billion… Then, on top of that, the European Union fined them another $2 billion.”
The PBD podcast episode was published on October 17, 2024, but it is unclear when it was recorded. Plus, Apple didn't just lose the money, as it had been sitting in escrow for years.
As first noted by The Verge, Trump was vague about the call. “He [Cook] said something interesting,” Trump said. “He said they’re using this to run their business, meaning Europe is their business.”
But Trump has been more clear about what he thinks of the EU fine. He intends to either do something about it or prevent similar fines from happening in the future.
“I said, ‘This is a lot… But Tim, I have to get elected first, but I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies — you know, that’s not going to happen,’” Trump continued.
Trump appears to have done nothing about the fine during his time in office. The funds to pay the fine were placed in escrow in 2018, and he has made no recorded statements about it since.
Tim Cook has previously been reported to have lobbied Trump on behalf of Apple on multiple occasions. However, that was during the Trump administration, and during Biden's presidency, various Apple executives have visited the White House some 87 times.
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