Rose has been a vocal critic of the president.
Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose is not a fan of Donald Trump — and apparently his disfavor also extends to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Rose tweeted that Cook is « the Donald Trump of the music industry. » That’s likely not a compliment for iTunes-owner Apple.
Rose has been a vocal critic of the president and his deputies Ivanka Trump, Jeff Sessions and Vice President Mike Pence. (During Trump’s campaign the rock band had a pinata of Trump at a concert, according to Billboard, and guitarist Duff McKagan has been known to write political commentary.)
Cook himself has not been supportive of all of Trump’s policies — Cook openly condemned Trump’s decisions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and to tighten immigration from Muslim-majority countries.
But Apple has been a big beneficiary of U. S. tax reform, championed by the Trump administration. It’s not clear if there’s a connection, but Rose would not be the first to point out a connection between Apple’s wealth and its efforts (or lack thereof) to pay musicians. Kanye West also addressed Cook a few years back, saying, « Hey, Tim Cook, the Head of Apple, stop trying to get performers to play your festivals for free. You are rich. »
Still, Apple’s proponents often point out that iTunes tamped down illegal music filesharing and provided artists a way to better monetize online music. Cook has said supporting musicians is more important to Apple than money.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Axl Rose could not immediately be reached for comment.
