Apple’s Tim Cook Dazzles Trump by Gifting Him Hunk of Glass
During President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs rollout last spring, he threatened Apple CEO Tim Cook by name on Truth Social, saying he’d hit the company with 25 percent tariffs if it didn’t start making iPhones in the United States. This kicked off some panicky talk about $3,500 U.S.-made iPhones, since realistically, the Trump administration’s vision of Americans joining “the army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones” can’t come to fruition anytime soon.
But “Tim Apple” found a way to appease Trump without actually meeting his unreasonable demand for an entirely U.S.-made iPhone. And it involved presenting Trump with something that looked like a prestigious award but was actually just a hunk of glass.
“This glass comes off the Corning line,” Cook said while opening an Apple-branded box. “It’s a unique unit of one. It was designed by a U.S. Marine Corps. corporal, a former one, that works at Apple now … The base comes from Utah, and it’s 24-karat gold.”
After setting up the engraved glass disk on the Resolute Desk, Cook turned and shook Trump’s hand, saying, “Congratulations, Mr. President.” It wasn’t clear why Cook was congratulating Trump, but that didn’t keep the president from accepting his accolades. “Thank you, it’s fantastic,” he replied.
The Apple CEO heaped praise on Trump, calling him a “great advocate for American innovation and manufacturing,” and recasting his threats as an exciting “challenge.”
“President Trump … asked us to think about what more we can commit to doing,” Cook said. “And Mr. President, we took that challenge very seriously.”
Cook announced Apple is adding an additional $100 billion to its previous pledge to spend $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Part of this “Apple American Manufacturing Program,” involves producing the glass for two of its biggest products at a Corning facility in Kentucky.
“For the first time ever, every single new iPhone and every single new Apple Watch sold anywhere in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,” Cook said.
While the event was staged as a win for Trump, complete with a golden trophy, Apple probably walked away with the biggest prizes, as CNN explained:
The White House on Wednesday ratcheted tariffs on Indian imports up by an additional 25%, raising the total levies on one of the United States’ most crucial trading partners to 50% when they kick in later this month.
But smartphones are exempt from President Donald Trump’s new levies on India, marking a crucial win for the tech giant as it approaches its most important time of the year: its annual September iPhone launch followed by the holiday season. Apple will also dodge incoming new tariffs on semiconductors, since it’s committed to building iPhone components in the United States, Trump said Wednesday.
So while the company will still be impacted by Trump’s tariffs — Apple said it expected them to add $1.1 billion its costs in the September quarter — it will avoid the worst-case scenario.
And Apple’s concessions aren’t as massive as Trump made them seem. Reuters noted, “While the investment pledge is significant, analysts say the numbers align with Apple’s typical spending patterns and echo commitments made during both the Biden administration and Trump’s previous term.”
When pressed on whether Apple will fulfill Trump’s demand for a fully American-made iPhone, Cook said that while some components are made in the U.S., final assembly “will be elsewhere for a while.” Does “a while” mean forever? Probably!
Though Cook is being praised for his savvy groveling, analysts may not be taking the full cost into account. During the press conference, the CEO had to maintain a straight face as Trump railed against the “total bullshit” Epstein “hoax,” and that’s got to leave some emotional damage.
When you get stuck between two people arguing and you really just wanna go chill.#trump #apple https://t.co/r2k0lN6boR pic.twitter.com/5Tlbj3mqg8
— Vadim Yuryev (@VadimYuryev) August 6, 2025