Apple chief executive Tim Cook has become the latest business leader to speak out against Donald Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
In an email to staff, obtained by Buzzfeed, the tech boss said he “disagree[d] with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence” between racists and people who oppose them.
“Like so many of you, equality is at the core of my beliefs and values,” Cook wrote. “The events of the past several days have been deeply troubling for me, and I’ve heard from many people at Apple who are saddened, outraged or confused.”
In the text of the email, Cook explained that what happened in Charlottesville “has no place in our country.” He then took to explaining why this matters to both sides of the political spectrum, as opposed to blaming it on both.
“We must not witness or permit such hate and bigotry in our country, and we must be unequivocal about it,” he said. “This is not about the left or the right, conservative or liberal. It is about human decency and morality.”
Mr Cook said Apple would donate $1 million USD to both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League and match two-for-one employees donations to these and other human rights group from now to September 30.
Cook’s blistering attack on Trump comes after as business leaders such as the heads of 3M, Campbell Soup, Johnson & Johnson, and United Technologies announced their resignations from advisory councils on Wednesday in protest against the president’s comments about the violence in Charlottesville.
Read the entire email here.
