Apple CEO Tim Cook weighed in on Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, which has led to further national outrage following federal agents killing of Alex Pretti.
In a memo to employees, per Bloomberg, Cook said that it was “time for deescalation. I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity. This is something Apple has always advocated for. I had a good conversation with the president this week and shared my views, and I appreciate his openness to engaging on issues that matter to us all.”
NEW: @tim_cook responds to ICE killing in Minneapolis in internal memo to employees, saying it’s “time for deescalation” and that he had a “good conversation” with Trump about the situation this week where he shared his views. Story on @TheTerminal. pic.twitter.com/DYtsU01h7N
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 28, 2026Cook is one of the few tech CEOs to speak out following the shooting death of Pretti. But he came under specific criticism for attending a black tie White House premiere of Amazon MGM’s Melania documentary at the White House, just hours after the shooting. The documentary’s director, Brett Ratner, posted a picture of himself with Cook at the event.
The Intercept reported that, over the past few days, a number of Apple employees expressed their dismay that Cook attended the event and had not yet commented. He issued his statement on Tuesday evening.
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Tech CEOs have sought to get in Trump’s good graces amid tariff threats and a desire to lightly regulate emerging artificial intelligence technology. In the aftermath of the latest Minneapolis shooting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an internal Slack message that “what’s happening with ICE is going too far. There is a big difference between deporting violent criminals and what’s happening now, and we need to get the distinction right,” according to The New York Times.
But like Cook, Altman was careful not to criticize Trump, who directed the policy to target Minneapolis and the state. Earlier this month, Trump posted a warning on Truth Social, apparently directed at Democrats in the state: “FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!”
In his message on the Pretti shooting, Altman wrote, “President Trump is a very strong leader, and I hope he will rise to this moment and unite the country.”
A number of Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Hanks and Glenn Close, have posted social media messages and spoken out, while there was an anti-ICE protest at the Sundance Film Festival. But media and entertainment CEOs have been silent, as most of them were when Trump federalized the National Guard in Los Angeles as part of an ICE crackdown in Southern California last summer. Industry lobbyists have been wary of doing anything to get on the president’s bad side as he continues to threaten tariffs, and with major mergers pending.
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