Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, speaks at the 2019 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco on November 19, 2019.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with “CBS This Morning” that anyone with a role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week should be held accountable. Cook did not exempt President Donald Trump from that statement.
“I think no one is above the law,” Cook told CBS’ Gayle King in a clip that aired on Tuesday. “I mean that’s the great thing about our country, we’re a rule-of-law country. I think everyone that had a part in it needs to be held accountable.”
Cook said that the events are not something the country should just seek to move on from, though he did say eventually “we need to move forward.”
“I don’t think we should let it go,” Cook said. “I think holding people accountable is important.”
Apple removed Parler, an alternative social media app, from its App Store on Saturday after finding that it was being used to spread calls of violence in the wake of the Capitol riots, in violation of its rules against objectionable content.
Cook has maintained a relatively close but balanced relationship with Trump during his time in office. While Cook has criticized key Trump policies such as his decision to terminate DACA, the Obama-era program that protects some immigrants from deportation, and ran a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in 2016, he has managed to gain Trump’s support more than the leaders of many other Big Tech companies have.
The relationship has arguably paid off by allowing Apple to repatriate cash at lower tax rates and get its products exempt from tariffs on China-imported goods.
King said the interview with Cook was prescheduled to unveil a “big announcement” on Wednesday when the full interview airs. King said the announcement is not about a new product.
