Apple CEO Tim Cook has addressed questions regarding his relationship with Donald Trump’s administration amid backlash. The tech leader clarified his stance and emphasized his focus on policy rather than politics.
Tim Cook addresses criticism about Donald Trump
Tim Cook has broken his silence on the criticism surrounding his relationship with Donald Trump. The Apple CEO has previously attended White House dinner for tech CEOs in September 2025 and had been among several tech personalities who were present during the President’s inauguration in January 2025. Most recently, Cook also attended an exclusive early screening of the First Lady Melania Trump’s Amazon documentary in 2026.
Speaking with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan on Tuesday, Cook addressed his connection to the Trump administration. When Strahan asked about his reported closeness to the President, the Apple leader clarified, “What I do is I interact on policy, not politics. I’m not a political person on either side. I’m not political.”
Cook added, “And so I’m kind of straight down the middle. And I focus on policy, so I’m very pleased that the president and the administration is accessible to talk about policy.”
During the interview, Cook also opened up about Apple’s plan to increase their investment in manufacturing in the United States. “We’re putting $600 billion into the U.S. over the next four years,” he shared. “And in fact, if you looked at your iPhone today, the front cover and the back cover, all of that glass will be coming out of Kentucky by the end of this year.”
The Apple CEO added, “The engine, the system on a chip, we’re gonna make over 100 million of those in Arizona this year. We’re going to make over 20 billion semiconductors in the U.S. And again, this is not only for the U.S. market-sold iPhones, it’s for worldwide iPhones.”
With Apple’s 50th anniversary on the horizon, Cook also talked about his own future in the company as its CEO. “I love what I do deeply,” he shared, adding, “Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple and I’ve loved every day of it since.”
Cook further stated, “We’ve had ups and downs, but the people I work with are so amazing. They bring out the best in me. And hopefully, I can bring out the best in them. And Michael, I can’t imagine life without Apple.”
