The Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that he talked with Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook about the financial penalties the EU has imposed on the company.
What Happened: In a conversation with Patrick Bet-David, released on Thursday, Trump said that Cook had reached out to him earlier that day.
“He (Cook) called me two, three hours ago,” the former President said. He quoted Cook saying, “The EU has just fined us $15 billion … Then on top of that, they got fined by the EU another $2 billion.”
Trump said he knows what Cook must feel because he gets “fined too on fake cases.”
The Republican nominee said that the Apple CEO told him that the EU is going to use this money to “run their enterprise,” he told Cook, “Tim, I got to get elected first. But I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies. That won’t be happening.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
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Why It Matters: Apple has been under the EU’s radar, losing a court case last month that led to a $14.4 billion back tax payment to Ireland.
Earlier this year, Apple was slapped with a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for suppressing competition from music-streaming rivals through restrictions on its App Store.
Previously, Trump also said that Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is supporting him in the upcoming election. Quoting Zuckerberg, the former President said, “I've never supported a Republican before, but there's no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election.”
However, his statements were refuted by Meta, who said, “As Mark has said publicly, he's not endorsing anybody in this race and has not communicated to anybody how he intends to vote.”
The former President is getting massive public support from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
As the election nears, Trump’s position in the race has improved, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding a slim lead.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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