Donald-TrumpApple has informed Republican leaders it will not be supporting the party's 2016 presidential convention in Cleveland next month, according to sources who spoke to Politico today.

The decision is reportedly due to comments made by presumptive nominee Donald Trump which the company takes issue with, in particular his controversial positions on the subjects of minorities, women, and immigrants.

Apple has traditionally donated technology and cash to both Republican and Democratic conventions, although no funding was provided to the 2012 Democratic event after the party decided against taking corporate donations.

It's still unclear whether Apple plans to donate to the upcoming Democratic convention in Philadelphia this summer.

Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have all said they will provide some support to this year's GOP event, despite general reservations within the tech industry about where the party is headed under Trump's candidacy.

Back in March, Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the American Enterprise Institute's annual World Forum, where conversation among tech leaders and Republican representatives kept returning to the topic of the GOP candidate's emergence on the political scene. Sources familiar with the event said that the meeting centered more around how and why Trump had attracted support, rather than how to stop him.

Trump has previously singled out Apple for its encryption stance and its refusal to help the FBI unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, and at one point suggested people should boycott the company's products unless it complied with the federal agency's demands.

It was later revealed that Trump had tweeted the comment using an iPhone.

No indication was given by the two sources Politico spoke to that Trump's criticism of Apple was behind its decision to withhold support for the Republican event.

Apple will not be alone in its refusal to help with GOP convention efforts. Earlier this month, HP announced it would not provide funding, after coming under pressure from activists at ColorofChange.org.

"We want them to divest from hate; we want them to pull all their money and support," said Mary Alice, field director for Free Press Action Fund, which is part of the anti-Trump campaign. Tech companies backing the convention need to be "thinking hard about where they put their brand, and whether they want to align their brand with racism, hatred and misogyny," she told Politico.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

mrxak Avatar
116 months ago
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with big companies giving free stuff and money to any political party's convention.
Score: 109 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sza Avatar
116 months ago
Tim, can you please stop messing with the political **** and release the upgraded Mac Pro?
Score: 106 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Exponent Avatar
116 months ago
Look Cook, you want to be a politician, leave Apple and be a politician - focus on it. You want to be a CEO of a company dependent on innovation, then be a CEO - focus on it.

Right now you're making a mess of the latter to try to be the former.

And as for Trump, he's simply proposing that the number one job of the U.S. President is to look after the interests of the U.S. Citizen - be it in employment at the low-end (illegal immigration), the middle-class (H1-B visas), security in the border regions (illegal immigrants), or security from those groups that _consistently_ look to kill Americans (Radical Islamic Terrorists).
Score: 84 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kch50428 Avatar
116 months ago
Apparently Apple's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and respect for people ends when they don't like your politics... Good to know.... smh...
Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
APlotdevice Avatar
116 months ago
More social conditioning from the liberal left wing political agenda.
No, your candidate is just dog ****. Even people on the right can see that.
Score: 73 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MyMacintosh Avatar
116 months ago
.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...
vision pro video recording

WSJ: Some Apple Vision Pro Buyers 'Feel Total Regret'

Friday May 16, 2025 7:43 am PDT by
Apple's Vision Pro headset has left many early adopters expressing dissatisfaction over its weight, limited use cases, and sparse software ecosystem, according to a new article from The Wall Street Journal. In the year following the device's launch, user feedback suggests that it has failed to meet expectations for comfort, software support, and social acceptance. In interviews conducted by T...
microsoft copilot plus pc

Microsoft Says 'We're Faster Than a Mac' in Latest Windows PC Ad

Thursday May 15, 2025 12:29 pm PDT by
Microsoft today shared a new ad on YouTube with the tagline "we're faster than a Mac." In the video, Microsoft says the top-end Windows PCs with Copilot+ branding are up to 58% faster than the previous-generation MacBook Air with the M3 chip, based on Cinebench 2024 multi-core CPU benchmark results. The ad is citing old figures that were reported on all the way back in May 2024, so take that ...