President Donald Trump shared an unhinged tribute to Apple CEO Tim Cook—whom he again referred to as "Tim Apple"—following Cook's announcement that Apple will have a new leader starting in September, openly reminiscing about all the times Cook would call him to "kiss my ass."
Cook took over from Steve Jobs and reshaped Apple by leaning on his operations expertise. He streamlined and expanded global supply chains, introduced Apple-designed chips, and pushed the company beyond hardware into services, launching subscription offerings like Apple News, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay, which have since become major revenue drivers.
In an open letter published Monday, Cook said he "will be transitioning into a new role, leaving the CEO job behind in September and becoming Apple's executive chairman." He said he feels grateful to have been "the leader of a company that ignites imaginations and enriches lives in such profound ways it defies description."
Cook said the company’s next CEO will be John Ternus, a longtime engineer who has spent 25 years at Apple Inc.. Ternus has led hardware engineering across major products, including iPads, AirPods, Macs, the Apple Watch, and the iPhone.
On the day after Cook's announcement, Trump took to Truth Social to describe a "long and very nice relationship" between himself and Cook, though his view of this relationship appears rooted in all the ways Cook allegedly fawned over him, including when asking for help with a "fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix."
He wrote:
"I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim."
"For me it began with a phone call from Tim at the beginning of my First Term. He had a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix. Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well."
"The fees would be paid but the job would have gotten done. When I got the call I said, wow, it's Tim Apple (Cook!) calling, how big is that? I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to 'kiss my ass.' Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively."
"That was the beginning of a nice and very long relationship. During my five years as President, Tim would call me, but never too much, and I would help him where I could. Years latter [sic], after 3 or 4 BIG HELPS, I started to say to people, anyone who would listen, that this guy is an amazing manager and leader."
"He makes these calls to me, I help him out (but not always, because he will, on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask!), and he gets the job done, QUICKLY, without a dime being given to those very expensive (millions of dollars!) consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don't."
"Anyway, Tim Cook had an AMAZING career, almost incomparable, and will go on and continue to do great work for Apple, and whatever else he chooses to work on. Quite simply, Tim Cook is an incredible guy!!!"
You can see his post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Trump has proven he'll make anything and everything all about himself—and Cook's announcement is no exception.
He was swiftly called out for what critics said was another example of his narcissism on display.
With Trump, it will always be about "me, me, me."
