Tim Cook’s legacy isn’t just phones, it’s politics

As much as any Apple product released during his time as CEO, Tim Cook’s tenure will be remembered for its ruthlessly efficient tight-rope walk between an autocrat in China and a would-be autocrat in the US.

During his 15 years as CEO, Cook steered Apple through relations with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, including escalating conflicts between the two. As Apple’s enmeshment in China raised serious questions about reports of forced labor and censorship, Cook managed to appease Xi while maneuvering around political blowback in the US. And when Trump launched a trade war against China, Cook managed to soften the blow through his White House diplomacy. Cook’s ability to thread the needle between two superpowers helped expand Apple into a multi-trillion-dollar company, while downplaying concerns about civil rights, working conditions, and other serious issues.

Cook was the executive who had helped solidify Apple’s manufacturing prowess in China, even before stepping into the role as CEO in 2011. Once at the helm, he had to navigate questions of censorship, data privacy, and forced or child labor reports even before Trump ascended to the presidency. He repeatedly attended meetings with Xi alongside other tech CEOs. The close relationship has put Apple in an awkward position at times. Groups like Human Rights Watch warned that Apple’s actions in China could put it at odds with its stated value of protecting user privacy.

In 2014, Apple departed from tech peers like Google by choosing to store some Chinese users’ personal data on servers in mainland China, saying at the time it was meant to improve its services for those users. But the move raised significant concerns that data could be at risk and subject to government censorship, though Apple reportedly stored the encryption keys outside of China. While Apple said an audit of labor conditions at its contractors found no forced labor, it also reportedly lobbied to weaken a US bill that sought to put a stronger onus on American companies to guarantee they weren’t using such a workforce. It’s submitted to Chinese regulations that required it to lower in-app purchase fees but also removed apps from its app store that the government objected to.

Cook knew how to pick his battles

Beginning in Trump’s first term, Cook also deftly navigated the US president’s whims, and appealed to him with showy displays that cost Apple relatively little. At one memorable tour of a contractor’s Mac Pro manufacturing plant, Cook stood beside Trump as the president falsely claimed that Apple was “building plants in the United States.” (The Texas plant had manufactured Mac Pros for years, and while Apple was building something in Austin at the time, it was a new campus, not a manufacturing facility.) Cook knew how to pick his battles, balancing his relationship with Trump with maintaining confidence from staff and customers. After Trump imposed immigration restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries in 2017, for instance, Cook told employees it was “not a policy we support.”

Trump kicked off the initial trade war with China in his first term, leading China to impose its own tariffs on US goods in response. Eventually, Cook was able to win Apple a reprieve from some of the high tariffs imposed by the US on goods from China, such as the Apple Watch.

In Trump’s second term, Cook’s support became more visible and his pushback more muted. Cook attended Trump’s second inauguration alongside many other tech CEOs, and donated $1 million to his inauguration committee. After Cook and other CEOs attended a film screening of Amazon’s documentary on Melania Trump hours after federal agents shot and killed protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Cook assured employees he was “heartbroken” by the situation and “had a good conversation with the president this week where I shared my views.” But similar to the stunt at the Texas manufacturing plant, Cook continued to present Trump with useful trophies to tout his policies — in August 2025, that came in the form of a gold and glass statue, awarded to the president as a symbol of Apple’s “Made in the USA” efforts. And to stave off more costly tariffs, he cut deals to bring more manufacturing to the US.

Walking that line let Cook and Apple do what they do best: pumping out a new version of the iPhone year after year, with the supply chain and trade conditions in place to make it happen. It’s only now that the AI-fueled RAM shortage is forcing Apple’s hand to raise prices, according to Cook. But even as Cook’s time as CEO has come to an end, it seems he won’t soon shake his role as Apple’s geopolitical negotiator-in-chief. In announcing Cook’s ascension to executive chairman, Apple wrote, Cook would continue “engaging with policymakers around the world.”

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