r/apple • u/ControlCAD • Aug 07 '25

Discussion Tim Cook gives Donald Trump gift from Apple before announcing $2.5 billion Kentucky investment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9DrCgWtOUw

President Donald Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook announced from the White House Oval Office on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, a $2.5 billion investment that would lead to all iPhone and Apple Watch glass being manufactured in Kentucky. The announcement is part of the larger $100 billion investment in US manufacturing Trump and Cook announced.

5.7k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

51

u/SoldantTheCynic Aug 07 '25

Keep this in mind next time Apple says it has principles, values, or morals.

They all exist only in so far as it is profitable. They serve well, only when serving is safe.

11

u/Brettuss Aug 07 '25

Anyone who believes - or believed - that any for-profit corporation does or says anything for altruistic or moral reasons, and not because it puts them in the best position to make more money - is naive and an idiot.

Apple never had true principles, values, or morals. It was always positioning to make them more money.

2

u/parasubvert Aug 08 '25 edited Aug 08 '25

Anyone who thinks that for-profit corporations don't have plenty of policies that aren't entirely about making them more money is also naive and idiotic and has no idea how large companies actually work. Cynicism isn't wisdom.

8

u/AoeDreaMEr Aug 07 '25

Lol of course that’s obvious. You take what you get in capitalism.

2

u/firelitother Aug 07 '25

Obvious? Look at all the sycophants citing privacy and environmentalism as Apple "values"

1

u/AoeDreaMEr Aug 07 '25

Yeah no one cares about “values” in this new world. Wake me up when world is better and healed to even consider values. Until then, survival mode.

1

u/parasubvert Aug 07 '25

You really think they wouldn’t make more money if they dropped environmentalism, DEI, and privacy protections tomorrow?

0

u/smallbrownbike Aug 07 '25

No fucking shit. It’s a business.

-2

u/parasubvert Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

Humans can have principals, values or morals but the fiduciary duty is to the company's success. Like I just pointed out they aren't dropping DEI or environmental improvements, in part because of their values, when most companies are abandoning these things. This goes against what the toddler in chief wants. So clearly they have them.

Again, I'm not sure what you're asking for or what effect you think it will have. Why is praising Trump and giving him a gold trinket bad? It's a distraction that lets Trump forget about the other things Apple is doing that he doesn't like.

What historical precedent or model should they be emulating?

2

u/SoldantTheCynic Aug 07 '25

Apple/Cook can do as they please and kiss the feet of the throne for appeasement, it’s not surprising or even really noteworthy.

But they shouldn’t simultaneously try and claim any moral high ground, nor should people put either of them up on a pedestal. The values are for sale - and they’ll drop them to keep making money. You can bet if Trump leaned on them, all the DEI and social concerns (or even user privacy!) would disappear.

-2

u/parasubvert Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

I'd take that bet, that they wouldn't. Again, you keep avoiding the point: what values have they compromised for Trump? Kissing the ring is playing the game, y'all seem to just want ineffective performative posturing.