Tim Cook gifted Trump first 2019 Mac Pro off assembly line
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Apple CEO Tim Cook gave former President Donald Trump the first 2019 Mac Pro to come off the production line at partner manufacturer Flex, according to a disclosure statement released on Wednesday.
Trump toured the Flex plant in Austin, Texas, in late 2019 to prop up his administration’s promise to boost American production might. Apple has used Flex to build Mac Pro models since at least 2013.
While the visit to Flex, and Apple’s new Austin campus, was well documented, Cook’s Mac Pro gift was only today revealed in a financial disclosure report highlighted by The New York Times reporter David Enrich.
According to the document, the Mac Pro is “the first created at the Flex Factory in Austin, Texas” and carries a value of $5,999. The price tag suggests a base Mac Pro configuration.
The filing fails to attach a date to the gift, though Cook likely sent the Mac Pro to Trump shortly after their meeting in Austin. Trump was accompanied by his daughter Ivanka Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on the factory tour which was designed to showcase American-made products.
“The nice part is [Cook] doesn’t have to worry about tariffs, because when you build in the United States you don’t have to worry about tariffs. It sort of helps people make a decision to come in,” Trump said at the time.
Cook in an interview thanked the Trump administration who helped Apple “get this far,” saying it “would not be possible without them.” He did not specify the type of help provided, but the U.S. Trade Representative’s office that year granted a number of tariff exemptions related to the Mac Pro.
While not a cozy relationship, Cook was more willing to engage with Trump than his Silicon Valley counterparts, a strategy that proved useful in deflecting fallout from Trump’s China tariffs.
Trump sometimes referenced Apple’s investments in U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure as success stories for his administration.
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