According to a disclosure statement released on Wednesday, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook gave former President Donald Trump the first 2019 Mac Pro to come off the production line at partner manufacturer Flex.
Apple has used Flex to build Mac Pro models since 2013 at least. In late 2019, Donald Trump toured the Flex plant in Austin, Texas to live up to his administration’s promise to encourage American production strength.
Tim Cook gifted a $6K Mac Pro to Donald Trump
According to Trump’s financial disclosure report, Tim Apple (as Trump once called him) gifted him a $5,999 Mac Pro, posted on Twitter by New York Times journalist David Enrich.
The computer is defined as the very first Mac Pro produced at the Flex factory in Austin, Texas. Other than Apple, Ford and Boeing also gave gifts to Trump. Enrich’s tweet said ‘It’s unclear from this filing when these gifts were actually given. Who knows ?? maybe yesterday, maybe years ago??’.
Check out the gifts that people –– including the CEOs of @Boeing, @Ford and @Apple –– gave Trump. (from his final financial disclosure report, released today) https://t.co/nJYwiIxvAB pic.twitter.com/WiZP5HZ3EJ
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) January 21, 2021
After Trump’s tour, he told reporters:
I would always talk about Apple, that I want to see Apple building plants in the United States, and that’s what’s happening. And Tim Cook is someone I greatly respect.
The nice part is Cook doesn’t have to worry about tariffs, because when you build in the United States you don’t have to worry about tariffs. It sort of helps people make a a decision to come in.
Later Tim Cook thanked the Trump administration who helped Apple ‘get this far’, adding that it ‘would not be possible without them’. Cook did not specify the type of help provided by the Trump administration, however, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office granted a number of tariff exemptions that year regarding the Mac Pro.
Trump often referenced Apple’s investments in U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure as success stories for his administration. Apple’s Austin, Texas factory continues to be used to assemble the Mac Pro, with the machines being shipped all across the United States.
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