Donald Trump’s friend “Tim Apple” — that is, gay Apple CEO Tim Cook — presented the president with a gift made of glass and 24-karat gold Wednesday at the same White House press conference during which Trump announced that Cook’s company would be exempt from a steep new tariff.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump announced that Apple had committed an additional $100 billion investment in American manufacturing and jobs, bringing the company’s total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion. As the Washington Post notes, Apple’s initial $500 billion commitment — much of which would reportedly go toward paying employees and producing AppleTV+ shows — came in February, following Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on goods imported from China as well as U.S. allies Mexico and Canada. According to the New York Times, only about $39 billion of that initial investment was money it had not already planned to spend in the U.S.

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“Today, we’re proud to increase our investments across the United States to $600 billion over four years and launch our new American Manufacturing Program,” Cook said in a Wednesday press release. “This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support.”

At the White House event, Trump touted Apple’s plan, as part of its American Manufacturing Program, to expand its existing partnership with U.S. supplier Corning to open a smartphone glass production line in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The president then paused his speech to invite Cook to show off “a little bit about the product that you’re going to be doing in Kentucky.”

But rather than showing off one of Apple’s products, Cook approached the Resolute Desk to unbox a gift for Trump, consisting of a glass disk manufactured by Corning that fit into a 24-karat gold base. The disk was engraved with the president’s name, Cook’s signature, and the words “Made in USA 2025.”

Cook said the gift was a “unique unit of one” designed for Trump by a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal who now works for Apple.

Later in the press conference, both the Post and the Times report, Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on U.S. companies that import chips used in semiconductors. But, he said, companies that commit to investing in the U.S., as Apple has done, would be exempt.

Wednesday’s press conference was in keeping with Cook’s strategy, which began during Trump’s first term in office, of cultivating a personal relationship with the president to benefit Apple. As the Post reported following the 2024 election, it’s a playbook many corporate leaders look to when dealing with Trump. Rather than sending lobbyists, Cook has maintained direct contact with Trump, who famously responds well to flattery, through personal phone calls and dinners. As a result, Trump referred to Cook as “a friend of mine” at a 2019 event — while also referring to him as “Tim Apple.”

At least one social media user noted in an X post that Cook’s gift to Trump on Wednesday resembled an award. When the CEO presented it in the Oval Office, he shook Trump’s hand, saying, “Congratulations, Mr. President.”

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