[thereitgoes456]

I admire how Tim Cook participates in US politics. He is doing the most while giving the least. I would do the same in his position, he is making the best of a difficult situation, and it is his duty to protect his company and employees.

Giving a golden statue of Trump has no effect on you and me, and a very large effect on Trump. He is gaining significant political capital while giving up nothing that matters (feel free to correct if I am wrong). Contrast with every other tech executive, lawyer, and university dean in America, most of whom have been cowed into compromising on their deepest values, or even worse, have done so without hesitation. I cannot think of many tech execs whom history will be kinder towards.

[amalcon]

I'd be careful normalizing bribery. It's very micro-efficient, almost definitionally, but the macro effects of normalized bribery are well known and not good.

[BirAdam]

Bribery is the actual normal function of US politics. That’s what lobbying really amounts to.

The USA has the best government that money can buy.

[shimman]

Until you get fascism or welfare reforms, hopefully you aren't on the chopping block by then.

[BirAdam]

To be clear, I am not saying this is a good state affairs; merely that it is the normal operating procedure for the USA.

[mohamedkoubaa]

Classic is ought fallacy

[vel0city]

> Giving a golden statue of Trump has no effect on you and me, and a very large effect on Trump.

Bribery hurts everyone else following the law. It erodes public trust. All of us are definitely hurt by Trump's extreme and obvious levels of corruption.

[thereitgoes456]

I agree, but I'm taking as an axiom that some amount of bribery (tribute, really) had to be done, that Apple could avoid massive government retribution. In that lens, this bribery, while bad, is the least destructive form it could have taken. It being so gaudy actually helps this case.

[vel0city]

> I'm taking as an axiom that some amount of bribery (tribute, really) had to be done

It didn't.

> In that lens, this bribery, while bad, is the least destructive form it could have taken.

Its not.

> It being so gaudy actually helps this case.

It doesn't.

Normalizing corruption to this level is a bad thing. Period.

The people engaging in this should be in prison. Including Trump.

[mcmcmc]

> Giving a golden statue of Trump has no effect on you and me, and a very large effect on Trump.

No effect on you, really. You aren’t affected by gas prices or tariffs? They are bowing down and participating in Trump’s patronage schemes. Every powerful person who does this is complicit with all the horrible things done by the Trump administration. They are endorsing Trump and his ilk with their behavior if not their words, which allows and encourages him to continue his fraud and abuse.

[liuliu]

Trump is the president. People voted him into the Office. Tim Cook didn't give him the golden statue before he is in the Office.

Everyone in the United States is complicit to the horrible things done by the Trump administration by your logic. I partially agree, but I also think burning Apple to the ground will not be Tim Cook's legacy and he is in no place to go against the executive branch.

It is not about Trump, it is about the corrupted executive branch. Tim didn't do any crime against humanity in his act.

[throwaway173738]

No, before Trump 2 nobody would’ve taken bribes and gifts so openly like this. It’s not even in the same league and it’s some really self-serving argumentation to pretend otherwise.

Every complicity is another nail in the coffin of our democracy.

[phist_mcgee]

Nor does the cop who demands $100 for letting you go without arresting you.

But they're still responsible for their own personal piece of the rot in the system.

[rescripting]

Is Tim the cop or the motorist in this example?

If a cop says your problems go away for $100, you pay it, because the downside is huge by comparison. The problem is the cop getting away with it, not that you paid the bribe.

[2muchcoffeeman]

I hope you’re not comparing a gold trophy to a straight up bribe. It’s like giving Trump your Noble peace prize.

Having the prize doesn’t make you the winner. But it feeds Trumps ego sooooooo muuuuuch, it’s probably the “best” thing you can do to get on his good side without actually giving him anything.

[tastyface]

Cook stood up to the FBI. He could have stood up to Trump -- he just didn't want to.

[liuliu]

That's a lawful FBI. This is a lawless executive branch. As we all know by now, executive branch has a lot a power that cannot be limited by Congress nor the Courts and erasing a few zeros from 4T market valuation is a piece of cake (as we witnessed daily how they moved billions around the market to their favorite inside traders).

[tastyface]

Tanking Apple would tank the economy -- the one thing Repubs are afraid of. Cook could have used that.

Other, much smaller organizations have stood up to Trump and forced him to back down. So much for "courage."

[liuliu]

Like you said, yes, it is about courage. I just felt that I won't have that courage when I were in his shoes. We can just be different.

[mcmcmc]

> Everyone in the United States is complicit to the horrible things done by the Trump administration by your logic.

This is a ridiculous strawman. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume ignorance instead of malice.

I wrote that going above and beyond to curry favor with an autocrat in order to protect your profits is collaboration.

And you read, what? Existing under a government means you necessarily support it because there was an election? You do understand an election means some people voted the other way, right?

[pb7]

Not an ounce of self reflection in this comment.

He's not an autocrat precisely because there was an election. He won the election because he got the most votes. He has since failed to do most things he campaigned on because his power is very limited by virtue of our government's structure.

[mcmcmc]

Sorry for dropping the implied “wannabe” in autocrat, I figured HN commenters would be smart enough to infer that based on context. He is pushing and breaking boundaries on every front. No, he never accomplished any of the outlandish promises he made about the economy because he was lying and his team is incompetent, same reason the Iran war is a disaster. Project 2025 has been going pretty damn well though.

[bigyabai]

> He is doing the most while giving the least.

> Contrast with every other tech executive

What contrast is there? Tech executives capitulated to Trump's demands, and Tim Cook did the exact same thing. The problem doesn't start and stop with the gold trophy, it encompasses things like European legislation, labor/union laws, and complex supply chains that Apple needs federal support to manage. There are convoluted motives here, and the bizzaro FIFA trophies are only the tip of the iceberg.

[thereitgoes456]

It's fair to say there is not much contrast. But he's kept Apple's DEI and climate commitments in place even after being attacked directly, while Zuckerberg, Musk and Altman are proactively broadcasting right-wing talking points, sometimes pre-emptively. Yes, Cook gave $1 million, but Brockman gave $25 million, and Musk gave much, much more.

[bigyabai]

We don't know what deals Cook and Trump have made with each other, we've just seen the byproduct of their relations on the political stage. Nothing Cook did during his tenure de-risked Apple from the consequences of a worsening political state in the US. When the tides turn towards authoritarianism, Apple turns towards compliance. They've done it for both Trump admins.

Cynically speaking, Cook is wise to keep the DEI and climate commitments as bartering chits for Apple's next leadership to forfeit. He knows that Apple needs leverage to get their druthers from the Fed.

[Schiendelman]

When you say you don't know something about one actor in an equation, you must apply the same thinking to every other actor. It's not useful to go on the path you're going down.

[bigyabai]

I do apply that same logic to figures like Altman and Musk, and I would argue it's been a very useful framework for analyzing their motives.

[FireBeyond]

> Giving a golden statue of Trump has no effect on you and me, and a very large effect on Trump. He is gaining significant political capital while giving up nothing that matters (feel free to correct if I am wrong).

He personally donated at least a million dollars to Trump's inauguration, plus whatever to the campaign.

[liuliu]

He also donated to Kamala Harris campaign. He would also donate to the next Democratic president for their inauguration if they still choose to do this corruptive thing. And your point is?