Apple Speaks Out Against Trump Order to Rescind Protections for Transgender Students

Apple tonight spoke out on U.S. President Donald Trump's move to rescind Obama administration protections for transgender students, providing a statement to Axios. The protections had allowed transgender students to use bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity.

apple store logo 1
The Cupertino company reiterated its commitment to equality, saying that everyone deserves a chance to be free from stigma and discrimination.

"Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination. We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections."

This isn't the first time Apple has spoken out against the actions of the Trump administration. In late January, CEO Tim Cook said that the immigration executive order was not a policy that Apple supported. Apple made its HR, legal and security teams available to employees who were affected and eventually joined nearly 100 firms filing a legal brief against the order.

Under Cook, Apple has had a history of speaking out in favor of equality. In March 2015, Cook spoke out against Indiana's controversial "Religious Freedom" law, which allowed business owners to turn away LGBTQ customers by citing "religious freedom." Cook also called on Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to veto the bill.

Additionally, in 2013 both Cook and Apple came out in support of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and released a statement of support after the Supreme Court gay marriage ruling.

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.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

MadeTheSwitch Avatar
107 months ago
Here we go again. Stick to making consumer products. :eek::(:rolleyes::eek:
Nope. The education of students...all students, is everyone's responsibility to speak up about. They are our future.

If Trump can comment on Apple products (which he did) then I see no reason why Apple cannot do the reverse.
Score: 150 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lucky736 Avatar
107 months ago
Here we go again. Stick to making consumer products. :eek::(:rolleyes::eek:
Score: 131 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jerry16 Avatar
107 months ago
Build great products. Shut up. Stay out of it. This goes for all causes, liberal or conservative. As a corporation, there is no reason to alienate potential buyers on either side of the aisle.
Score: 106 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrumApple Avatar
107 months ago
Funny how Apple is so quick to speak on political issues, but silent on even acknowledging their products MANY shortcomings - especially as of late - exactly what kind of company are they trying to be?
Score: 102 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RMo Avatar
107 months ago
Here we go again. Stick to making consumer products. :eek::(:rolleyes::eek:
Apple is capable of both making consumer products* and issuing three-sentence anti-discrimination statements to a news outlet. :)

*Alright, so some of the Macs beg to differ, but that's another story...

Build great products. Shut up. This goes for all causes, liberal or conservative.
Apple obviously perceives that is in their best interest to make their position known. Silence could be interpreted as tacit agreement. I think this is good for them for both recruiting a diverse workforce (what if a talented engineer who happened to be trans felt uncomfortable applying?) as well as ensuring socially-conscious buyers know what kind of organization their money is supporting.

I think most people's disagreement here can be boiled down to the fact that trans people freak them out and that they therefore don't want companies speaking up about it. (I had a couple friends from college who ended up being trans, and I think they were a great help for me in understanding these issues. I wish everyone could experience that, but everyone can at least read about it or have an open mind.) Much like gay rights, this shouldn't even be a political issue. Maybe Apple will stop speaking up about it when people's rights are no longer politicized, but I suspect you'll still be disappointed as, being a business, they probably have opinions on economic issues too, which probably going to also be considered political issues for the rest of time. :)
Score: 78 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Patriot24 Avatar
107 months ago
Funny how Apple is so quick to speak on political issues, but silent on even acknowledging their products MANY shortcomings - especially as of late - exactly what kind of company are they trying to be?
All of the things going on in our country and your main concern is the refresh cycle of the Mac Pro?

In this moment they're being exactly the company I want them to be.
Score: 72 Votes (Like | Disagree)