Consider Cook as a Tragic Figure

Marco Arment, on Mastodon, regarding Tim Cook’s million-dollar chip pitched into the pot for the Trump 2025 inauguration racket:

Watch everyone now bend over backward to justify this as some sort of forced move that Cook HAD to do.

Have you considered the possibility that Tim Cook just… supports Trump? Like so many other mega-rich CEOs? Is it that hard to believe?

Why do we think Tim Cook couldn’t possibly support Trump, while all of these other billionaires support him for their own billionaire self-interests?

Why do we keep making excuses for him?

Why do we keep making excuses for Apple?

He clearly didn’t have to do it. And Arment is right, it’s entirely possible he simply supports Trump and signed his check with a smile on his face. But I think it’s a lot more likely that this decision was ruthlessly practical. That whatever Cook’s idealogical/political feelings towards Trump, playing ball on this inauguration racket was simply Cook doing what he deemed best for Apple.

★ Saturday, 4 January 2025