'I'm not political': Tim Cook responds to backlash against his relationship with the Trump administration

Tim Cook says he isn't political. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images 2026-03-18T09:56:01.230Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app Loading audio narration... This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Tim Cook said he's politically neutral and focuses on policy when interacting with President Donald Trump. The Apple CEO also discussed the company's $600 billion investment in US manufacturing in a recent GMA interview. Trump has promised tariff relief for companies like Apple that are building in the US. Tim Cook is bucking any labels you might assign to his political beliefs, despite what his critics think. The Apple CEO joined Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" for an interview that aired Tuesday. Strahan asked Cook about his proximity to the Trump administration — namely, his attendance at the inauguration and a screening of the "Melania" documentary, as well as a US-made glass plaque Apple gifted Trump in 2025."I'm not a political person on either side," Cook said. "I'm not political." Cook faced recent criticism from some Apple customers and employees over his presence at the documentary screening in January. Some customers called for a boycott on social media, and The Intercept reported that some employees shared negative reactions in internal Slack messages.Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee in January 2025, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. In the past, Cook has held fundraisers for political parties on both sides of the aisle, including Hillary Clinton and Paul Ryan, as Fortune reported in 2016. "What I do is I interact on policy, not politics," Cook told Strahan. "I focus on policy, so I'm very pleased that the President and the administration is accessible to talk about policy."Trump said in 2019 that Cook was the only tech leader who called him personally. Cook has seemingly strengthened his relationship with Trump over the past year, including announcing Apple's $600 billion investment in US manufacturing over the next four years. "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," Cook said in the "Good Morning America" interview.So far, his focus on policies and building in the US has paid off with the Trump administration, which has exempted some, but not all, of Apple's products from many tariffs. "The good news for companies like Apple is if you're building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, in the United States, there will be no charge," Trump said in August 2025.Apple still racked up a $1.4 billion tariff bill in the December quarter alone, the company said in its most recent earnings call.

The Supreme Court has since struck down many of Trump's tariffs — though his administration has issued new ones — and some companies, like Costco and FedEx, have sued the government, seeking refunds of the tariffs they paid. Cook said Apple will take a wait-and-see approach, learning how the courts rule before deciding whether to try to get the money back.Whether he stands firmly on one side or the other, Cook's political tightrope walk continues.