Trump hosts Apple CEO at Mar-a-Lago as big tech leaders continue outreach to president-elect

Advertisement

Advertise with us

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2024 (661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Cook is the latest in a string of big tech leaders — including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — who have sought to improve their standing with the incoming president after choppy relations with Trump during his first term.

Trump has said he has spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union.

The meeting comes less than two months after Trump said he spoke to Cook by phone, and soon after Apple lost its last appeal in a dispute with the EU over 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland.

“He said the European Union has just fined us $15 billion,” Trump recalled of his conversation with Cook, in an October interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David. “Then on top of that they got fined by the European Union another $2 billion.”

The decision by the EU top court was the finale to a dispute that centered on sweetheart deals that Dublin was offering to attract multinational businesses with minimal taxes across the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission in 2016 ruled that Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid that Ireland was required to recover.

Trump’s transition team and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his dinner with Cook.

OpenAI CEO Altman is planning to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, the company confirmed Friday. Amazon and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, confirmed this week they had each donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract.

More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. Last week, he said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations.

The donation from Meta came just weeks after Meta CEO Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago.

During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Residents who blame civic politicians for all that ails us should know it’s not entirely their fault

Dan Lett 5 minute read Preview

Residents who blame civic politicians for all that ails us should know it’s not entirely their fault

Dan Lett 5 minute read 3:24 PM CDT

Winnipeggers see dysfunction on city streets and assume it is a failure by the city; in fact, this failure is more fairly assigned to the senior levels of government.

Read
3:24 PM CDT

Stevenson set for first Jets start against Penguins

Ken Wiebe 5 minute read Preview

Stevenson set for first Jets start against Penguins

Ken Wiebe 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:55 PM CDT

DETROIT — Clay Stevenson, the stage is yours.

As the Winnipeg Jets wrap up a two-game road trip on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the newest member of the team will be between the pipes after Stuart Skinner got the call in the first two outings of the campaign.

There will be an element of familiarity for Stevenson, as PPG Paints Arena is where he made his first NHL appearance with the Washington Capitals on April 17, 2025.

“There is some comfortability in that building,” said Stevenson, who made 33 saves in a 5-2 loss to the Penguins in that NHL debut. “It’s always a great challenge to play against (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin and those guys. It’s an honour to get into the crease anytime.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:55 PM CDT

Trump hosts Apple CEO at Mar-a-Lago as big tech leaders continue outreach to president-elect

Zeke Miller And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Dec. 13, 2024

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Cook is the latest in a string of big tech leaders — including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos — who have sought to improve their standing with the incoming president after choppy relations with Trump during his first term.

Trump has said he has spoken with Cook about the company's long-running tax battles with the European Union.

The meeting comes less than two months after Trump said he spoke to Cook by phone, and soon after Apple lost its last appeal in a dispute with the EU over 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland.

Living the dream

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Preview

Living the dream

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

DETROIT – As Tyrel Bauer took a left turn out of the tunnel from the Winnipeg Jets dressing room and into the stands, he was met with a hearty round of applause from the 25 friends and family members who had made the trek from various points around North America.

Bauer had just realized a childhood dream and the significance of the moment was not lost on some of his biggest supporters.

“It was a special walk, for sure. A special walk,” Bauer said on Saturday afternoon before the Jets departed for a two-game road trip that begins on Sunday in Detroit against the Red Wings. “Those people who came – and many more that weren’t there and were cheering on from afar – they’ve always been there.

“I wanted that for my family, maybe even more than I wanted it for me. They’ve been through thick and thin. I’ve stressed mom out quite a bit over the years doing my job. That meant a lot for them and I’m really happy they could be there for it.”

Read
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Record participation, funds raised in 2026 breast cancer awareness race

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Record participation, funds raised in 2026 breast cancer awareness race

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

It’s become a tradition for the West End Legends to gather, get dressed up in hot pink and gab about their late girlfriend on the first Sunday of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Mary was a beauty, a brain, an athlete and a friend,” said Linda Opalko, a 67-year-old member of the fundraising team founded in honour of Mary Stawychny.

Stawychny’s last breath was taken the same day the group — made up of friends the career teacher maintained since she grew up on Ingersoll Street more than 50 years ago — got together for the 2022 CIBC Run for the Cure.

“We were walking as she was leaving us four years ago,” Opalko said as she and fellow fundraisers strolled down Wellington Crescent on Sunday morning.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

Mayoral candidates Klein, Vogiatzakis continue to snipe over inducement allegations

Chris Kitching and Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview

Mayoral candidates Klein, Vogiatzakis continue to snipe over inducement allegations

Chris Kitching and Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Updated: 3:08 PM CDT

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Mike Vogiatzakis told reporters Monday he will contact the city clerk to report his allegation that rival Kevin Klein tried to get him to drop out of the race.

Vogiatzakis and Klein both doubled down and continued to point fingers a day after accusing each other of offering the other a position at city hall, if victorious in the Oct. 28 election, in exchange for a withdrawal.

“Do I want to get him charged? Not really. I don’t want to destroy anybody’s life,” Vogiatzakis said at a campaign event.

“Kevin’s a good guy. I always liked Kevin. I thought he was a friend of mine, but he’s not. Kevin uses leverage to get ahead, and he tried to use me as leverage.”

Read
Updated: 3:08 PM CDT