Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Tim Cook as an “incredible guy” and called himself a “big fan” of him after Apple announced that Cook will become the executive chairman of its board of directors and step down as CEO.Writing on Truth Social, Trump reflected on his relationship with Cook, saying it began during his first presidential term when the Apple CEO reached out for help over a major issue. However, Trump also made a weird remark, saying he was impressed to have the head of Apple calling to “kiss my ass.”“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 ass.’ Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively.”
Trump said Cook had reached out to him multiple times during his presidency. “During my five years as President, Tim would call me, but never too much, and I would help him where I could. Years latter, after 3 or 4 BIG HELPS, I started to say to people, anyone who would listen, that this guy is an amazing manager and leader. He makes these calls to me, I help him out (but not always, because he will, on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask!), and he gets the job done, QUICKLY.”He also compared Cook’s leadership with that of Steve Jobs, suggesting that while Apple would have succeeded under Jobs, it may not have achieved the same level of growth seen under Cook.Praising Cook’s tenure, Trump added, “Tim Cook had an AMAZING career, almost incomparable, and will go on and continue to do great work for Apple, and whatever else he chooses to work on.”Apple said Cook will remain in a leadership role as executive chairman, while John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, will take over as CEO starting September 1, 2026.In a statement, Cook said he loves the company “with all of my being” and described leading it as the “greatest privilege of my life,” adding that he feels “a gratitude that I cannot put into words.”