By Tim Higgins

The risk of Tim Cook's strategy for navigating Washington came into clear focus Saturday night.

As the world's attention turned to Minneapolis following the death of Alex Pretti, a nurse, at the hands of federal immigration agents, the Apple chief executive was at the White House feting President Trump and the first lady.

The juxtaposition couldn't be starker: videos showing protests in the streets versus a photo of a smiling Cook in a tuxedo with Brett Ratner, the director of a coming documentary about Melania.

That was, perhaps, the best example yet of the fraught game Cook, and the wider tech industry, is playing: embracing the president while also trying to appear apolitical. Other prominent tech CEOs were there, too, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

But even as some traditionally unwavering allies of the administration have voiced concerns about the response to what happened in Minnesota, Cook has remained quiet. (Apple didn't comment.)

Public reaction against Cook, head of one of the biggest and most recognizable tech giants, was swift. Social media erupted with calls to boycott Apple and users declaring it was time to go with rival Google's mobile operating system. "This is so embarrassing for Tim Cook," Dan Pfeiffer, a popular liberal podcaster and former Obama administration official, posted on X.

So much for Cook's yearslong attempts to fashion himself as an advocate for social justice.

The weekend's contrast also helped fuel further populist outrage at how the tech industry has benefited from its close relationship with the Trump administration -- further proof that the relationship could boomerang if midterm elections return Democrats to power in Congress.

It wasn't lost on Cook's critics that Apple has greatly benefited from Trump's grace. The tech giant was exempted from some tariffs on iPhones made overseas while other companies and their customers were left to deal with the bruising effects and uncertainty.

For many business leaders worried about our era of divisive politics, Cook had served as a template of sorts. He showed how CEOs could navigate the Trump administration for their companies' advantage while seemingly staying on the political sidelines.

Mostly behind the scenes, Cook has stood out as Apple's best lobbyist. He developed a rapport with the president and offered up PR wins for the administration. In many ways, Cook has operated in Washington like he has in Beijing and elsewhere, working with the local governments in power to ensure he has the best playing field possible for Apple.

Glimpses of their rapport occasionally surface, such as earlier this month when Trump praised Cook in Davos, saying, "He's great."

Through it all, Cook has largely been able to avoid the political blowback that Elon Musk has incurred. Unlike Tesla, Apple stores aren't being protested. Investors have cheered on Cook -- shares rose Monday -- and customers have continued to buy iPhones.

Blowback this weekend, however, suggests there are limits.

To be fair, Cook isn't alone. Many have embraced his playbook, especially in tech. After all, Cook was at a VIP event to see an early screening of the "Melania" movie that Amazon paid handsomely for, just ahead of Trump's taking office.

Since Trump's re-election, the industry's titans have donated money and, perhaps more important, kept largely quiet compared with the early days of his first term when Big Tech was among the loudest voices unhappy with his immigration policies.

In early 2017, Cook tried his hand at publicly jawboning the White House, telling the Journal that Apple was considering legal action against the Trump administration over how it was handling immigration.

The start of the second term began much differently. A year ago, Cook and other Big Tech leaders stood on stage with Trump as he took the oath of office for his second term. Cook and many other tech leaders have remained quiet on what's occurring in Minnesota.

The irony of the latest tempest is that Cook is probably most responsible for ushering in the technology that has made the current political moment possible: the camera phone.

Saturday's death of Pretti -- the second this month -- occurred amid efforts by the Trump administration to deport immigrants who entered the country illegally. The approach has stirred dramatic community pushback in Minnesota, including clashes between federal agents and local protesters. Numerous videos of federal officials' actions in the killings have stood in apparent contrast to the official accounts being given by some administration officials.

Those videos have fueled a common rallying cry: "Believe your eyes, not the lies."

It isn't the first time we've seen the power that comes when almost everyone has a video camera in his or her pocket -- thanks to the success of the iPhone. It is a role that Cook, himself, has celebrated, talking about the role the iPhone has played in the same breath as what occurred earlier during the civil-rights movement.

"We are humbled by it," Cook said on CBS's "60 Minutes" in 2020. "If you look back in time, some of the most dramatic societal changes have occurred because someone captured video."

He made those comments in the wake of George Floyd's being killed in Minneapolis. Cellphone video that captured police killing an unarmed Black man helped spark nationwide protests during the final year of Trump's first term.

It was a moment of national uncertainty -- not unlike now.

Back then, Cook evoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and urged action. Today, his balancing act has him sidelined, producing a new sort of risk for Apple, the tech industry and Cook's legacy.

Write to Tim Higgins at tim.higgins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2026 16:17 ET (21:17 GMT)

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