NYT: Apple tax was Trump’s way of getting back at Tim Cook for skipping Middle East trip

On Friday, President Trump publicly threatened a 25% tariff on all iPhones not made in the United States, catching both Apple and his own administration off guard. Now, The New York Times reports it seems the move was likely payback for Tim Cook skipping Trump’s recent Middle East trip. The President goes east You’ve probably seen a few photos from Trump’s CEO-studded tour of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. From Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to OpenAI’s Sam Altman, the president’s entourage read like a Silicon Valley star lineup. But one high-profile exec was missing: Apple CEO Tim Cook, who had been invited but declined. And according to the Times, that decision stuck with Trump throughout the trip. During a speech in Riyadh, for instance, the president praised Huang for showing up, then took a shot: “Tim Cook isn’t here, but you are.” Later, in Qatar, he told attendees he had “a little problem with Tim Cook”, as he criticized Apple’s growing manufacturing footprint in ... Read full article.