Internet wags had a good laugh when Donald Trump referred to Apple CEO as Tim Apple at a White House meeting last week.
Days later, Trump is still bristling at the jokes, although the ribbing was largely dying down.
The president on Monday tweeted in defense of his malaprop, saying he had combined the executive’s name and his company to keep conversation flowing at the first American Workforce Policy Advisory Meeting.
By midmorning, the internet banter over the incident resurged, with “Tim Cook of Apple” trending heavily on Twitter, with roughly 17,000 mentions.
Trump also scolded the media for alerting people to the faux pas.
“At a recent round table meeting of business executives, & long after formally introducing Tim Cook of Apple, I quickly referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words,” he wrote. “The Fake News was disparagingly all over this, & it became yet another bad Trump story!”
At a recent round table meeting of business executives, & long after formally introducing Tim Cook of Apple, I quickly referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words. The Fake News was disparagingly all over this, & it became yet another bad Trump story!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2019
The Tweet comes after Axios reported Trump had told Republican donors at his Florida getaway Mar-a-Lago that he had, in fact, said “Tim Cook Apple” really fast.
Trump’s denial, as you might expect, created more scrutiny on social media, with detractors pinpointing certain parts of his Tweet.
Thanks to Trump's "Tim Cook of Apple" explanation, this is now officially a presidential gif. Pic.twitter.com/7Y45IQEVQN
— Richard Jeter (@MilesToGo13) March 11, 2019
You could have saved an extra syllable by just calling him "Tipple," and used that extra second to reunite a family separated at the border.
— @RobertEllsberg (@RobertEllsberg) March 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/LetYourLifeBe/status/1105131998513836033
Cook, meanwhile, is still leaning into the joke, listing his Twitter account as “Tim Apple,” using an Apple emoji in place of his last name. That emoji, by the way, can only be seen on Apple devices.