Apple CEO Tim Cook presents President Trump with an exquisite gift in another effort to combat tariffs

Apple CEO Tim Cook wasn’t able to keep President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs that hurt the company this time around, unlike the president’s first term. Now, in another show of solidarity, the CEO has presented the president with an exquisite, custom-made, and quite expensive gift.A circular cutout of Corning glass adorned on top of a 24-karat gold base. The glass has the Apple logo engraved on it, front and center, with the president’s name displayed above. Under the logo is Tim Cook’s signature, and the words “Made in USA 2025”. Below the president’s name is the title that signifies the purpose of this item: Apple American Manufacturing Program.

The unique item was gifted to the president by Cook during discussions about Apple’s U.S. manufacturing plans, being held in the White House. Apple first tried to circumvent tariffs imposed on China by shifting the majority of its production to India, but President Trump called out the company’s attempts. India has gotten much higher tariffs placed on it than most countries, as the president urges Cook to manufacture the iPhone Stateside.

There have been many reports about how much an American-made iPhone would cost. Some analysts claim that such a product would cost approximately $3,000, and perhaps even more. Others say that this is just fearmongering, and that Apple isn’t stupid enough to sell such an expensive phone. There are also some who believe that the company will never shift manufacturing to the U.S.

Samsung — Apple’s largest rival in the smartphone market in the U.S. — has mostly remained in the clear. Not being an American company has meant that the president hasn’t specifically asked for a Galaxy S25 to be manufactured in the country. Samsung also moved its production out of China years ago, and has dodged the worst of the tariffs.

It’s unclear what Cook is planning at the moment. Perhaps he might try to use some components manufactured Stateside in the iPhone 17 or beyond, and try to convince the president that Apple is helping the American economy. Maybe this is all just a show, and the company is just waiting for the current administration’s term to come to an end, so things can go back to normal.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Tim Cook has presented President Trump with a gift: the CEO had also donated one million Dollars to the president’s inauguration ceremony earlier this year. However, these gestures have yet to pay out what Cook is hoping for, another term where Apple is exempted from tariffs.