Apple CEO Tim Cook changes Twitter name after Trump gaffe

Team Udayavani, Mar 10, 2019, 6:38 AM IST

Washington: Apple CEO Tim Cook has quietly changed his Twitter profile, replacing his last name with an emoji of the company’s logo, after US President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to him as “Tim Apple”, a verbal slip which netizens poked fun at by sharing rib-tickling memes on social media.

At a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump while addressing the leaders of industries appreciated Cook for his “big investment” in the US and referred to the tech executive with a new nickname “Tim Apple”.

“We have so many companies coming in. People like Tim, you’re expanding all over and doing things that I really wanted you to do right from the beginning. I used to say, ‘Tim, you’ve got to start doing it over here’, and you really have. I mean, you’ve really put a big investment in our country. We appreciate it very much, Tim Apple,” Trump said.

Cook responded to the funny side of the situation by changing his Twitter name to “Tim Apple” on Thursday, with the Apple an emoji of his company’s logo, ABC News reported.

Trump is known for using nicknames and ‘mispronouncing names’ of people such as “Jeff Bozo” in reference to Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Last year, he had called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson “Marillyn Lockheed.” 

Trump’s gaffe did not go down well with many netizens poking fun at the president’s awkward slip of tongue by sharing rib-tickling memes on social media.

“Hey look, it’s Tim Apple, son of Apple founder Steve Apple,” said one user.

“A Tim Apple a day keeps the doctor away,” wrote another.

Earlier in 2016, Trump was critical of Apple as the tech giant refused to unlock the suspected San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone for the FBI. He even called for a boycott of the company’s products.

When Trump was running his presidential campaign, he tweeted that he had sold his stock in Apple as the company wasn’t making bigger phones “like Samsung”.

Cook has previously criticised Trump’s decision to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate accord and condemned the president’s travel ban.