The documents, released Wednesday, cite the article as “the first to be created at the Flex Factory in Austin, Texas.”
appeal (AAPL) did not respond to a request for comment on whether it was the first Mac Pro from the factory, but the timing seems unlikely. That factory was opened in 2013. However, this may be the first 2019 model to come out of the factory.
The Mac Pro gift likely stems from a factory visit in November 2019 to highlight U.S. jobs at the Flex Ltd. manufacturing facility that makes Apple products. Controversy ensued at the meeting, as Trump implied that the factory was new to Apple under his leadership, which was not.
“We are seeing the beginning of a very powerful and important plant,” Trump said at the time. “Anyone who’s followed my campaign, I’ll always talk about Apple, that I want to see Apple build in the United States. And that’s what’s happening.”
It is possible that he confused it with Apple’s new $ 1 billion Austin campus that it broke ground on the same day.
Also on display are a $ 529 bomber jacket from Ford chairman Bill Ford, golf clubs and accessories from Derek Sprague, president of the American Golf Association, and a $ 650 Ultimate Championship belt from martial artist Colby Covington.
The announcement also revealed that Trump’s hospitality assets, including golf courses and hotels, suffered a setback last year due to the global pandemic, and such assets have fallen by 38% since 2019.
While it is common for presidents to receive gifts, there are rules and regulations about what they can accept.
While the Mac Pro is an expensive gift, it is the base cost of the current 2020 model. That’s before you charge a $ 999 Pro standard and other calls and whistles like $ 5,999 for a 32-inch Pro Display XDR with Retina 6K display and $ 25,000 for 1.5TB of memory. All in all, a Mac Pro can cost up to $ 54,447.98.
Cook and Trump cultivated an unlikely relationship during Trump’s presidency, from dinners to with Ivanka Trump to promote education. After Trump named chef Tim Tim during an event in the White House, the CEO changed his name on Twitter.
But the pair have also bumped heads over the years, including when Trump injected himself in a fight between the Department of Justice and Apple over security protection on iPhones used by the gunman who killed three people at a U.S. Navy base Pensacola, Fla., Killed. also spoke out against Trump’s immigration policy.