A day after announced that its Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is stepping down from his post, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) heaped praises on Cook, and called him an “incredible guy” who had an “amazing career”. Trump also called himself a big fan of Apple’s CEO.
In a Truth Social post, wrote, “I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim.”
Recalling his first interaction with during his first term as the US President, Trump added, “For me, it began with a phone call from Tim at the beginning of my First Term. He had a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix. Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well. The fees would be paid, but the job would not have gotten done. When I got the call, I said, ” Wow, it’s Tim Apple (Cook!) calling, how big is that? I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to “kiss my a**.” Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively.”
That incident, according to Trump, marked the beginning of a “long and very nice relationship.”
Cook sought help from me: Trump
The noted that on several occasions during his five-year tenure as the President, Cook called him to seek help. He went on to say that while Cook used to call him, it was never too frequent, adding that “I would help him where I could.” He even said that after three or four “big help,” he said he told people that Cook was an amazing manager and leader, as he gets the job done quickly, without spending a dime on those very expensive (millions of dollars!) consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don’t.
According to Trump, Cook had an amazing career at Apple, almost incomparable. He went on to say that Cook will “go on and continue to do great work for Apple.”
Tim Cook steps down
Cook will be stepping down later this year from his post, marking the end of a leadership that saw the technology giant navigating a landscape being revolutionised by artificial intelligence (AI). He will now become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors
He will be succeeded by , a senior vice president of hardware engineering. Ternus will take over Apple’s reign on 1 September.
Cook’s Apple career
Tim Cook joined Apple Inc in 1998 and became CEO in 2011. Since then, he has led the launch of major products and services, including new categories like Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro, as well as platforms such as iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV, and Apple Music, while strengthening existing lines. Under his leadership, Apple’s market value jumped from about $350 billion to $4 trillion, and annual revenue rose from $108 billion in 2011 to over $416 billion in 2025.
The company now operates in more than 200 countries, runs over 500 retail stores, has added over 100,000 employees, and expanded its active device base to more than 2.5 billion.
