Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a private White House screening of MELANIA on Saturday night. By Sunday morning, calls to boycott Apple products were spreading across social media.
Cook joined roughly 70 guests in the East Room for the 104-minute documentary about the First Lady’s return to the White House. Brett Ratner, who faced multiple sexual harassment allegations in 2017, directed the film. Other tech CEOs included Andy Jassy (Amazon), Eric Yuan (Zoom), and Lisa Su (AMD).
Countdown: 5 Days
MELANIA
1.30.26
Only In Theaters
*Worldwide* pic.twitter.com/6wQME7flTB— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) January 26, 2026
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a military band played “Melania’s Waltz” as guests entered. Gloved waiters served commemorative popcorn boxes. Each guest received a framed screening ticket.
The Timing
Image credit: Myotus / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA
Hours earlier, Border Patrol agents had fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a Minneapolis VA hospital during an immigration operation. The shooting sparked protests across the city. It was the second deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis in less than a month.
The Backlash
“If you’re a CEO willing to sit in the company of this regime, your ‘shareholder value’ excuse feels pretty blood-soaked tonight,” conservative political strategist Rick Wilson posted.
David Corn, Washington bureau chief of Mother Jones, wrote: “Tim Cook and Andy Jassy—and the rest—are accommodating an authoritarian who is presiding over a secret police force killing American citizens. The blood of Renee Good and Alex Pretti is on the hands of those who enable Trump. Hope they like the movie.”
Apple customers announced they would switch platforms. “Time to consider an Android? #MoneyTalks,” one Threads user wrote.
Tim cook last night decided it would be a good idea to go to the white house and watch the Melania screening. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/KQzY9qtyM3
— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) January 26, 2026
An Apple shareholder posted an email he sent to the company: “Our CEO is attending an event at the White House on the same day that the Administration executed a U.S. citizen. I’ve long told people that Tim Cook is the best CEO in America. Tonight he has shamed us all.”
Critics pointed to Cook’s Twitter bio, which features a Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” One user wrote: “I think @tim_cook should take the MLK quote out of his bio. Feels off-brand for the guy who attended a private screening of the Brett Ratner MELANIA doc.”
Investor Adam Cochran addressed Cook directly: “How was this movie? The one you watched while Americans were shot. While ICE tracking apps were banned from the App Store. While you stayed silent on Trump.”
One user claiming to have worked for Steve Jobs wrote: “It’s time for @tim_cook to go. Steve would’ve told the Trumps to go fvck themselves.”
Why Cook?
Cook is catching more heat than the other tech CEOs who attended. The reason is simple: he made this personal.
For over a decade, Cook made Apple’s progressive values inseparable from its identity. He became the first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO in 2014. He opposed bathroom bills targeting transgender people. In a 2015 Washington Post op-ed, he wrote that “Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous.” In a 2018 interview with Recode and MSNBC, he criticized Facebook: “We could make a ton of money if we monetized our customer. We’ve elected not to do that.” His Twitter bio features a Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok, via Wikimedia Commons
Apple customers paid premium prices—over $1,000 per device—partly for these values. The customer base skews liberal and design-conscious.
Then, in August, Cook presented Trump with a 24-karat gold desk ornament. Multiple outlets have reported the trophy still sits on Trump’s desk. On Saturday night, Cook sat in the East Room watching a vanity documentary directed by Brett Ratner—hours after federal agents shot a nurse in Minneapolis—and ate popcorn from commemorative boxes.
Amazon’s customer base is broad and transactional. Zoom sells to businesses. AMD makes chips most people will never see. But Apple sold itself as different. Cook made himself the face of that difference.
On Sunday, customers reminded him what he’d promised. And what he’d just done.
The Silence
Apple and Cook have not responded to the backlash.
Apple is navigating ongoing antitrust scrutiny. The Department of Justice filed suit in March 2024, alleging the company maintains an illegal monopoly over smartphones. The case continues.
What’s Next
Apple’s annual shareholder meeting is February 24. Whether the backlash will surface remains unknown.
MELANIA opens in 1,400 theaters Friday. BoxOfficePro projects a $1-2 million opening weekend. Amazon paid $40 million for the rights.
As of publication, Cook’s Twitter bio still displays the MLK quote.
