The White House has encouraged a number of chief executives and representatives of US companies to accompany President Donald Trump on his visit to the Middle East, the New York Times reported Sunday, however, Apple CEO Tim Cook declined the offer, according to two people familiar with the matter. “This decision seems to have upset Donald Trump,” the New York Times said, referring to Cook in public several times during visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a speech in Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump reportedly paused to praise Nvidia CEO Jen-hsun Huang, who was traveling with him, “I mean, Tim Cook isn’t here, but you are,” he said at the event, which was attended by senior representatives from companies including OpenAI, Citigroup and Advanced Micro Devices.
Tim Cook, file photo, source: foreign media
After arriving in Qatar, Donald Trump mentioned Cook again, saying he had “A little problem with Tim Cook.”. While praising Apple’s investment in the US, he also revealed that he had told Cook, “But now that I hear you’re building factories all over India, I don’t want you to build factories in India.”
So far, Tim Cook, Apple has not responded to this. The White House declined to comment on the trip.
Donald Trump also posted on his social media account on May 23, local time, threatening a 25 percent tariff on iphones made anywhere but the United States, the report said. Donald Trump’s comments caught Apple executives and many in the administration off guard.