Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the TIME 100 Summit on April 23, 2019 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Wednesday that the United States must complete the transition to a Biden administration, and that rioters who participated in an “insurrection” in Washington D.C. must be held responsible.
“Today marks a sad and shameful chapter in our nation’s history. Those responsible for this insurrection should be held to account, and we must complete the transition to President-elect Biden’s administration. It’s especially when they are challenged that our ideals matter most,” Cook tweeted.
The comments were made in a tweet late in the day that a pro-Trump mob invaded the U.S. Capitol, forcing Congress to suspend proceedings to confirm the election of Joe Biden as president.
The tweet is Cook’s first public statement on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. President Donald Trump has called Cook a friend and the two men have had an open line of communication over the past four years.
Other business leaders have also condemned the violence on Capitol Hill, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and the Business Roundtable, a group of major public companies, of which which Apple is a member.