Over the years, Apple gave generously to Republican and Democratic National Conventions. But this year isn’t going to be a normal convention. This year, Donald Trump will be crowned Republican nominee. Apple wants no part of the Trump campaign.
Apple doesn’t like Trump’s controversial comments about women, minorities, immigrants, Muslims and the disabled. Apple shared their concerns with Republican leaders. Then add pressure from liberal leaning groups and civil rights activists. All this equals no Apple support for the 2016 Republican convention. In 2008, Apple donated $140,000 in computer supplies to both parties. They gave computer supplies to both parties in 2012. But in Cleveland this summer, Donald Trump should expect no help from Apple. This isn’t just a political move. It’s a personal one. Trump condemned Apple. Apple refused to give certain information pertaining to the San Bernadino shooting case. Trump slammed CEO Tim Cook. Trump even called for a boycott against Apple. No Apple representative is talking about this one. Nobody knows how Apple will contribute to the Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia. But this has to be good news for the Hilary Clinton campaign.
The majority of Silicon Valley leaders and executives lean left. But in other elections, tech companies split their support for both parties. They know they have customers in both parties. They don’t want to upset their customer base by blatantly leaning toward one party. Apple is breaking that trend. During the Apple/San Bernadino controversy, many tech companies sided with Apple. Could this have a ripple effect? Apple depends of skilled foreign labor. Trump wants to build a wall on the US/Mexico border. Trump wants to bring jobs from China back to the US. Think about how many Apple jobs are in China. Nonetheless, I’m sure many Trump supporters use Apple products daily. I’m sure many Republicans use Apple daily. So is Apple risking customers in the name of political principal? And if they are, is the risk worth it?