President Donald Trump‘s subsequent “Tim Apple” is not falling removed from the tree.
On Monday, Apple introduced long-expected however nonetheless seismic succession plans: CEO Tim Prepare dinner is stepping down, and in his place, John Ternus, senior vice chairman of {hardware} engineering, will lead the tech large beginning on September 1.
Prepare dinner, the person Trump unintentionally known as “Tim Apple” in 2019, will turn out to be government chairman of Apple’s board of administrators — a job that features “partaking with policymakers around the globe,” the tech firm stated.
He is had loads of expertise with that, significantly in an more and more mercurial Washington, the place a tech firm can go from an important accomplice to a nationwide safety menace in a matter of weeks (just ask Anthropic).
Below Prepare dinner’s management, Apple has lavished Trump with items, together with a particular inscribed piece of glass with 24-karat gold base and a custom-made $5,999 Mac Professional. Prepare dinner personally donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Apple donated an unknown quantity towards the development of the White Home ballroom, which is able to substitute the now-demolished East Wing.
When wanted, Prepare dinner has additionally handed Trump main bulletins, together with a further $100 billion funding in US manufacturing.
“In the present day’s announcement is likely one of the largest commitments in what has turn out to be among the many biggest funding booms in our nation’s historical past,” Trump stated in August 2025 when Prepare dinner introduced him with the plaque and the information of the extra funding.
Within the meantime, Apple has continued to fabricate iPhones abroad — regardless of occasional Trump threats to curtail the observe — and has secured main tariff exemptions.
It does not imply there have not been dust-ups. In Could 2025, Trump stated he instructed Prepare dinner he did not need Apple constructing merchandise in India.
“I had somewhat drawback with Tim Prepare dinner yesterday,” Trump said at the time. “I stated to him, ‘My pal, I handled you excellent. You are coming right here with $500 billion, however now I hear you are constructing throughout India.”
Ternus would not seem to have the identical sort of political background. In line with federal marketing campaign finance information, Ternus’ largest donation seems to be the $5,800 he gave to Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer’s marketing campaign in 2021.
Prepare dinner has additionally maintained a presence across the White Home, from Trump’s second inauguration to the current premiere of the Melania documentary. Prepare dinner has confronted some backlash for his relationship with Trump, however he says he is impartial.
“What I do is I work together on coverage, not politics,” Prepare dinner stated in March. “I deal with coverage, so I am very happy that the president and the administration is accessible to speak about coverage.”
Steve Jobs believed that every part wanted to stream from the shopper expertise. Apple can proceed to depend on Prepare dinner’s data of an important buyer.
