Apple CEO Tim Cook Donating $1 Million to Trump's Inaugural Fund
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/03/tim-cook-trump-inauguration-donation/Open linkView original on lemmy.world321
Comments106https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/03/tim-cook-trump-inauguration-donation/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
This legal bribery is disgusting
This is also why I am gradually untying myself from the Apple ecosystem, and all of propriety/big tech; especially US based.
When push comes to shove capitalism will not resist fascism. They will ignore all stated virtue signals and choose profits.
Tim Cooks pro-trans statements are falling pretty flat now.
Those were always a virtue signal. Every C suite, board member, and senior executive of every multinational are anointed by the plutocracy. Probably for every billion dollar company. They know how to play ball and the only allegiance they hold is to the almighty dollar. It's a big club, and we ain't in it.
The alternative is Google which is way worse if you ask me. At least Apple doesn’t touch your data, Google will absolutely record every bit of activity on your phone and use it with extreme prejudice to feed you ads and sell you shit you don’t need.
No. It's a tip. Thanks to the supreme court, it's not illegal if it's a tip!
You can't give someone a million dollars to bulldoze that orphanage. That's a bribe.
But it's totally legal to give them a million dollars after bulldozing the orphanage, as a tip!
You’re mistaking paying “protection fees” for bribery.
Trump is 100% gonna shake down and threaten those who don’t pay him off. Legalized extortion that dumbass Americans elected.
I love that this community calls out Apple’s BS.
I mean, all the Apple communities are shitting on this. Go look at the comment threads on the article and other Mac enthusiast blogs.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/01/03/apple-ceo-tim-cook-personally-invested-1-million-in-trumps-inauguration
Well, not the ultimate Apple circlejerk, r/apple.
That’s more a reflection of the mods. The mods are locking and or deleting Apple - Trump posts. Try posting and see for yourself.
Oh yes I've seen it millions of times over the last 15 years.
Yeah, the mods of that sub are pretty bad. They remove everything, even mundane stuff that all other Apple communities report on. They often remove posts that are not in violation of the established community rules.
It rubs off on the users too. Anything not absolutely fellating Tim Apple is downvoted to oblivion.
I generally find that community basically downvotes almost everything. They’d downvote a picture of their own mom because they already know what she looks like. Getting any story out of /new is hard in that place. There are a lot of angry people there.
This is normal on reddit. Want to get banned? Ask a mod what rule you broke. They won't even reply.
One thing that I do like about Lemmy is even the Apple community is somewhat critical. While this particular case seems to be more of an exception, you'll get massively downvotes if you critique the standard PR narrative that "Apple cares about digital privacy" or point out how Apple removed content critical of China and AI tech from their streaming service.
The reddit apple sub claims it isn't affiliated with apple corp. cough
Tim Cook is Apple's CEO and is very transparently doing this with the goal of getting favorable treatment toward Apple by the Trump administration. You'd have to be deluded to think this "personal donation" isn't a bribe on behalf of Apple.
What a fucking coward. Say what you will about Steve Jobs, but he would likely never had done this. So much for think different.
Lost all respect for Tim.
The Tim Apple doesn’t fall far from the golden goose.
Rich people fight for rich people. Remember this when you make decisions about giving corporations money.
Especially looking at you, Apple people.
@circuitfarmer @cantankerous_cashew @apple_enthusiast or Walmart or Amazon or… it’s inescapable
100%. And even if it weren't inescapable, the general strategy about leaning on the side of caution means you really shouldn't trust any corporation.
@chgowiz I suppose the interesting aspect of these PDAs by corporatists is the blatant fealty and corruption put on public display. At least with the establishment Democrats, it was kept behind closed doors but now it’s like they are truly afraid Trump and Elon will literally go after them using law enforcement and the courts, the military, and Congress like mob enforcers if they don’t very publicly kneel before him.
Oh cool I’ll just get my phone and mobile OS from this upstart named “goggle” or something?
The nonexistence of alternatives doesn't mean Apple isn't just as bad as the rest.
Ok, but the implication of your post is that we shouldn’t give Apple money because they’re a bad corporation. So is Google. Yet we require these products to function in modern society. So, what do you suggest?
There doesn't have to be any good option. The world doesn't work that way. Smartphones exist largely to collect data from people.
I’m not denying that, but your original comment was that especially Apple customers are bad.
Because Apple people tend to think Apple is privacy focused and somehow less guilty than other brands. That is something particular about Apple's customers, but not Apple itself. Apple itself is just another corporation doing corporate things.
Not this guy. I just use Apple because the devices and experience are better for me. I’m under no delusions, nor should anyone else be.
If you buy a Pixel, you’re still supporting Google. So miss me with that sanctimonious shit.
No, I know exactly how Google makes money. And you’re giving it to them. Sure, you avoid their tracking, but if you think they sell their phones at a loss, you’re a fool. Good day.
You can always get a used or refurbished device. It's good for your wallet and for the planet.
Apple makes great products. I will continue to buy them. Shrug.
Apple products are objectively mid at best. They make over priced products then spend way too much on advertising convincing foolish people that their mid products are basically luxury. It's all crap.
@D1G17AL @fourish That may be true and I would not spend that kind of money if it weren’t for the ecosystem.
And, since the DNA of Apple is building and selling hardware, it’s only logical that they can be a privacy advocate. At least more so than other big companies.
Final point: they are the only tech company with professional customer care (where you pay for, one way or the other) that actually helps and saved my ass a couple of times in the past.
@Xatolos@reddthat. AFAMIG this is to promote Apples own services and products only.
I’ve been on Apple devices since 2001 and have never received or seen an add for non-Apple products on any of my devices. So I’m inclined to believe that my profile is not being sold by Apple to third parties. Which is normal and common to happen to my Facebook or Google profile.
Aren’t you precious. lol.
Trying to make someone like you understand how you've actually harmed yourself is too time consuming. Apple is not good. You've fooled yourself into believing their lies about being pro-user. They just want your money and they want to sell you a MID grade product at best.
@D1G17AL Fine; what’s the alternative? I already run a VPN (actually two), use lock down mode, don’t accept cookies and use two add-blockers.
Not very fond of Apple for a completely different reason: battery life. So there your right. A mediocre performance at a top price.
So, what would be a better, more secure option than the methods / setup I use right now?
Android OS, Firefox Browser with ublock and ABP, who gives a shit about cookies, vpn's aren't needed unless you are trying to access region restricted information and data, lock down mode is probably excessive. You are probably not important enough to worry about most of those. The biggest issue for regular users is understanding when to open emails and click links. Most people make the mistake of clicking the wrong thing or opening the wrong email or message and then they get targeted by scammers. That's the biggest risk most average people face is getting their info into the hands of scammers. State-level hackers don't give a shit about anybody that doesn't have some government access. If you don't work for the government in your country then most state-level hacker's don't care about you.
Just practice good habits when it comes to opening links and visiting good and bad websites.
@D1G17AL I’m not particularly afraid of state hackers but working for a law firm I have to max out on protecting our clients against hackers. Being non-technical I’ve assumed that Apple would be the better option (and hence lock down mode and VPN). I have a hard time believing that Android would be more secure than iOS, (and I do realise most dangers come from phishing mails, but that’s a bit off topic).
Anyway; it’s a strong argument to look into switching to the Samsung Flip.
I mean, they don't. But they have convinced you as such.
Electing him as president was more incredible, now nobody can ignore him. Like it or not.
Can left leaning or liberal minded Apple users please switch to Linux now? There really is no excuse. Fuck Apple.
I will make it easy for you.
Get yourself a Framework Laptop: https://frame.work/
And a Fairphone: https://www.fairphone.com/
I fully agree on the Framework laptop, but Fairphones are insecure and suck. Get yourself a (preferably used) Google Pixel instead and load GrapheneOS on to it, it's very easy and maybe takes 10 minutes.
unfortunately as someone who fixes phones day in and day out I cannot own a pixel. absolutely horrendous build quality. there's a gap behind the screen which is held on solely by shitty adhesive on a thin bezel, and the amount of devices I've seen totaled by a drop on a corner destroying that bezel so a new screen can't be installed is insane.
Thank you for your insight.
Why do you think Fairphone (5) is insecure?
My experience is not that they suck. But yeah, they sure don't have the same spec as a premium iPhone or a Pixel. But they have a modular design, just like the Framework Laptop. I don't know any other modern phone that does. And they use a SoC that is guaranteed to receive support for a long time.
Fairphone fails to properly sign their own operating system. They use the publicly available (!) AOSP test private keys instead of an actual secret key. This breaks fundamental security features of Android like Verified boot, rollback protection, etc. They're also pretty slow with updates, including important monthly Android Security Bulletin patches. This is just the bare minimum for any OEM, and Fairphone fails to properly implement it.
Google goes above and beyond, and offers cutting edge hardware security in their Pixel devices. They have features that currently can't be found in any other Android phone, like ARMv9 MTE (hardware memory tagging), the Titan M2 secure element, which supports Android StrongBox, the Weaver API and comes with insider attack resistance. GrapheneOS takes full advantage of these features, and combined with their numerous software security improvements offers the most secure mobile OS + hardware combination on the market. You can read more about all the hardening of GrapheneOS on their features overview page: https://grapheneos.org/features
Plus it's degoogled by default, so it doesn't come with any trackers or bloatware. You can opt to install Google Play services, but they are confined in the standard Android application sandbox, just like any other user-installable app. They don't get any elevated privileges like on other Android-based operating systems.
Sounds like they at least addressed the test key issue
https://www.fairphone.com/en/2024/01/30/security-update-apex-modules-vulnerability-fixed/
I'm sorry, there's no other way to say this, but such a major issue slipping through is just a massive sign of incompetence. I support Fairphone's mission and philosophy, but I just can't trust this company. This isn't the only security issue either. I wouldn't recommend their devices to anyone for this reason.
Alright. Thanks!
@Andromxda @sith There are two things that keep me trapped:
For the rest…I switched to Apple in 2001. It used to my secret business weapon (I forced my whole company over to Apple), but those days are long gone.
Still hate MS-Windows though, so it going to be Linux. Anyone a suggestion for a Linux Airdrop and TimeMachine equivalent?
Not a real replacement for AirDrop, since it still requires devices to be on the same network, instead of using ad-hoc Wi-Fi, but LocalSend is pretty nice.
Which features of Time Machine do you need? Just backing up, or do you also need the file history? For backups the best solution we have is probably Pika Backup (it uses Borg Backup under the hood, so it's compatible with other tools that use the same standard). There's a pretty good video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W30wzKVwCHo
It also lets you grab individual files from a backup, but it doesn't look as nice as the Time Machine file history UI.
@Andromxda I’ve watched the whole movie. Thank you very much. The only thing Apple has going for itself right now is just visuals, I guess. I’m trying to restore a photo library from Apple Time Machine by the way and it fails continuously. So much for the quality of the functionality. #butitlooksfantastic
Cries in American 🥺
a Pixel phone with GrapheneOS is a better choice in my opinion.
And don't forget to donate to GrapheneOS team
And make sure to get a used or refurbished Pixel, because giving Google money isn't a good idea either https://reddthat.com/post/32690381
Well, just sell that crap. There is no excuse.
Pathetic
In bed with the fascist in chief
Got to pay your protection fees to the Don.
What's with the 1m value and why are all tech companies doing it?
Likely tacit acknowledgment that the US is becoming more authoritarian/run by a mob boss. For example, if you don’t pay the local mafia, you can expect them to show up and do bad things to you. However if you pay a bribe and kiss the ring, you may receive protection instead
Protection racket, just a nice round number to show fealty.
There is no protection from fascism. It's bribery, and the dumbest part is MAGAzis will still throw them all under the bus depending which way the wind blows on any given day.
Yeah, it's "protection" like the mafia. "It'd be a real shame if something jammed up your company, we should all just cooperate. You can start with $1M big ones into the account. We'll be best friends."
Notice how this only started being a possibility (woth everyone complying in advance) once they took over all 3 branches of power. Nobody was complying in advance^iirc during the 1st Trump presidency
But why not 2 mil for twice the love from trump?
Maybe they're colluding so that none of the donors pushes the donation amount higher.
Thanks Tim Apple
So gross. It shouldn’t be a surprise anymore, but it’s still depressing.
His name is actuality Tim Apple, l common mistake.
iCommonMistake is actually an Erik Tesla product, simple error
Bending the knee in the hope that he escapes the purges. Pathetic.
This type of behavior will have a dire effect on my purchasing habits. I just don’t know if companies like Apple realize the effect these types of decisions have, or if I’m just not representative of their market. Either way, Cupertino can go and get fucked.
I reckon I could ask the next 100 people I meet if they knew Tim had donated to DT at least 98 of them wouldn't know. And of those that are Apple users, they'd still buy more from him.
It would be super interesting to know more background on these donations. One has to wonder if there was some sort of solicitation going on. Did somebody leave a note on his windshield? I’m willing to bet there was.
So Tim Cook is a trump supporter then
What's not to like? Tax cuts and h1bs. Billionaires wet dream
Kissing the ketchup covered fingers of his lord.
Short fingers
That brown on his lips isn't ketchup.
Not that this makes it any better, but a lot of other tech companies are also doing this, and it shouldn’t go unnoticed
not samsung :)
What a pathetic lamprey.
This asshole will just claim it's a personal donation and not a corporate one. It's not wrong, just an asshole move with bad optics.
Et tu, Brute
Lol Tim Apple. You terrible human. May you never have a peaceful day in your life
Consider it an indulgence by a tech company to buy its way out of purgatory.
reasons why i have samsung
Samsung isn't an innocent company either, and I love their phones.
Yeah, IIRC Samsung are doing the same thing but in Korea
That's not relevant.
How's it not? It's apples direct competitor. Possibly naive, but certainly relevant.
Complaining about cell phones when the CEO is paying the next president of the US a million dollars is nowhere near the same ballpark.
Did anyone suggest it was?
And for that matter, did anyone complain about a cell phone?
Honestly, if you don't understand what's going on why are you in the discussion?
Yeah I'm sure you'd rather just sound vague and haughty for a few more turns here, but I'm going to ask you to explain what you think that means. Because to most people I think they read that and see in no way a complaint about cell phones, nor do they see cell phones being directly compared to a million dollar donation. I think what normal people would see there is someone saying I don't like what a company's doing so I'm going to do business with their competitor. Which is again entirely relevant to the topic.
But please spell it out for me as plainly as you can how you are interpreting that line. Cuz it's a mystery to me. One I'm sure you're capable of explaining satisfactorily.
Are you daft? Me and multiple other people have already criticized compairing cellphones to bribing a president of the united states of America. Literally everyone in this post except for the two of you understand what's going on.
If you can't figure that out, I'm sorry. I can not help you. Im not an ELI5 machine. You should be able to understand context.
I have a feeling you're white knighting and that's even dumber. Have a good night.
Upvoted. I wish I had a straight forward alternative to IOS but Android is not the one for me.