Donald Trump escalated his attack on Apple on the final day of campaigning before the Republican primary in SC, calling for a boycott until CEO Tim Cook honors a court order to unlock a terrorist’s iPhone.
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Trump wrote a tweet about a half and hour later, saying that he uses “both iPhone & Samsung”, adding that if “Apple doesn’t give info to authorities on the terrorists I’ll only be using Samsung until they give info”. In China, Apple had a tough battle to fight on privacy grounds.
“First of all, Apple ought to give [authorities] the security to that phone”, Trump told a crowd at a SC rally on Friday. Apple has received support from many consumer rights groups. What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such a time as they give that security number.
Apple said that it will not comply by Federal Bureau of Investigation order and said that its policy gives paramount importance to the need for encryption and customer privacy. I’d rethink that position and say it was all a joke.
“The phone’s not even owned by this young thug that killed all these people”.
Apple said, “We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country”.
But, according to the Washington Post, Trump has sent at least one tweet using iPhone since his boycott proposal The Post captured a screenshot of tweet written by Trump on Friday, showing he used Twitter for iPhone. “I was against that war”, Trump said.
Trump’s “boycott” is as impracticable as it is ridiculous. Furthermore, since he plans to use only his Android powered Samsung until Apple “gives info to authorities”, he should be aware that Google – the company behind Android – has publicly agreed with Apple’s stand on encrypted devices in general and this case in particular. In November, he lobbied for a Starbucks Corp boycott because the coffee chain’s red holiday cups lacked Christmas-related decorations.
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The Apple-centric website also claims that it will keep an eye on Apple’s stock to see if Trump’s boycott outcry has actually dealt a blow to the tech company. He also previously called for a boycott of Macy’s after the retail giant pulled Trump’s line of clothing from its stores due to Trump’s heated rhetoric over undocumented Mexican immigrants.
