Apple CEO Tim Cook is doing damage control. After attending a VIP screening of Amazon's $40 million Melania documentary just hours after federal agents killed protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Cook sent an internal memo to employees revealing he'd had "a good conversation" with President Trump about deescalation. The timing couldn't be worse - Cook's cozy relationship with the administration is now colliding head-on with a national crisis that's forcing tech CEOs to choose between political access and moral clarity.
Apple CEO Tim Cook just sent what might be the most carefully worded memo of his career. According to an internal message obtained by Bloomberg, Cook told employees he's "heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis" and revealed he'd discussed deescalation directly with President Trump. "I had a good conversation with the president this week where I shared my views, and I appreciate his openness to engaging on issues that matter to us all," Cook wrote.
The memo comes as Cook faces mounting criticism for his increasingly visible relationship with the Trump administration. Just this weekend, Cook was photographed at a White House VIP screening of Amazon's $40 million Melania documentary - an event that took place mere hours after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti during immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and AMD CEO Lisa Su also attended the screening, according to reports from The Verge.
The optics are brutal. While Minneapolis erupted in protests over aggressive federal enforcement, Silicon Valley's most powerful executives were rubbing shoulders with the administration at a documentary premiere. For Cook specifically, the incident highlights how his strategic cultivation of Trump - built through , , and even - is now colliding with a national crisis that demands moral leadership, not corporate diplomacy.
