APPLE CEO TIM COOK GIFTS TRUMP PLAQUE WITH 24K GOLD BASE

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook gave President Donald Trump a customized plaque with a 24-karat gold base during an Oval Office news conference Wednesday August 6 2025. moments before Trump announced that Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in U.S. jobs and suppliers.
Trump hosted a White House event alongside the man he once called “Tim Apple” to announce the development — which would expand Apple’s total commitment to U.S. investments to $600 billion — praising the tech giant’s efforts as “historic.”
“Apple will build the largest and most sophisticated smart glass production line in the world,” Trump said, adding that the tech company will source the cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch products from a Corning facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Pausing his speech, Trump invited Cook to come up and “show them a little bit about the product you're going to be doing in Kentucky.”
Cook approached the desk, where he gingerly unboxed the gift: an object that appeared to be an enlarged artistic rendering of a silicon wafer, a material used to make semiconductors, mounted on a 24-karat gold base.
“It’s a unique unit of one,” Cook said as he displayed the glass sculpture engraved with the president’s name, adding that it was designed by a former U.S. Marine corporal who now works at Apple. The price of gold is currently more than $3,300 per ounce, according to Reuters.
Earlier this year, Trump drew ire for accepting a Boeing 747-8 luxury jetliner from Qatar. The arrangement was denounced by critics as a “bribe” and a clear violation of the Constitution, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the approval of lawmakers.