Political commentator Bill Maher became a topic of conversation after he reported on his recent trip to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump.
Maher, who was Kid Rock’s plus-one during this visit, has been viciously critical of Trump in the past, but meeting POTUS one-on-one changed his opinion of him.Ā
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He called him “much more self-aware than he lets on in public” after Trump acknowledged in passing that he lost the 2020 election, something many of his supporters still do not believe. Maher said he can’t recall ever hearing Trump admittingĀ publicly thatĀ he’d lost the election.Ā
Maher acknowledged, however, that “It doesn’t matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian. It matters who he is on the world stage.”Ā
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Still, he went on to praise Trump’s cordiality and willingness to at least take his light-hearted jabs about sensitive topics that, if they were said in a different setting, would cause him to react differently.Ā
Mind you, this is a comedian Trump sued for $5 million in 2013, before he became president, after Maher likened his hair to orangutan fur on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” Trump was still able to charm the pants off of Maher, despite their checkered past.Ā
Unfortunately, 99.9% of small business owners will never have a private dinner with the president. But Tim Cook, CEO of AppleĀ (AAPL) , has had private conversations with Trump, and that friendship is already bearing fruit.Ā
Bill Maher was Kid Rock’s plus-one during a recent visit to the White House.Ā
Image source: Harnik/Getty Images
Apple gets a critical carveout from the Trump administrationĀ
AppleĀ (AAPL) Ā shares surged as high as 7.5% on Monday, April 15, before closing up 2.2% after the Trump administration announced over the weekend that certain electronics imports like smartphones and laptops would beĀ at leastĀ temporarily excluded from the 140% tariffs placed on China.
This announcement took many by surprise because, during the week, numerous Trump lieutenants went on television, seemingly at his behest, to tell the world that there would be no carveouts or negotiations in U.S. dealings with China.Ā
During a wide-ranging interview, Trump detailed his decision-making process.Ā
“Look, I’m a very flexible person. I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible, and you have to be,” Trump said Monday from the Oval Office.
“You just can’t have a wall, and you’ll only go…sometimes you have to go around it, under it, or above it. There’ll be maybe things coming up…I speak to Tim Cook. I helped Tim Cook recently and that whole business. I don’t want to hurt anybody,” Trump said.Ā
Tim Cook gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.Ā
Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Small businesses miss out on Trump’s generosity
Tim Cook donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. That small investment may have allowed Cook to gain access to Trump’s ear.Ā
It also might have helped Apple recover its $3 trillion market cap after rising in trading Monday. The carveout potentially saves Apple hundreds of millions of dollars in import taxes.Ā
Small business owners who have not received such generosity are taking the White House to court over the recent tariffs.Ā
On April 14, the Liberty Justice CenterĀ filed a lawsuitĀ challenging the Trump Administration’s authority to issue the tariffs, which will devastateĀ countless small businesses.Ā
Chinese goods accounted for 41% of U.S. imports in 2022, including 35% of all apparel and accessory imports and 52.6% of all couches, lamps, and other furniture and home goods.Ā
Any small business that relies on China for these types of wares will have to pay nearly triple what they previously did to import.Ā
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