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Apple

Why Twitter Is Meme-ing Tim ‘Apple’ Cook Again

By
Laura Stampler/TIME
Laura Stampler/TIME
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By
Laura Stampler/TIME
Laura Stampler/TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 18, 2019, 3:17 PM ET

Given how much Tim Cook appeared to enjoy his meme moment earlier this month—going so far as changing his profile name to ‘Tim Apple’ after President Donald Trump called the Apple CEO the wrong name at a press conference—the tech exec might be pleasantly surprised to find himself trending on Twitter Monday.

And, even more impressively, he’s trending for two different reasons.

The first relates to Apple’s launch of iPad mini, which occurred without much fanfare apart from a news release and Cook tweeting an image of him using an Apple pencil to write “hello” in looping cursive letters on the new device.

Or, as Mashable noted, tweeting “a white canvas that basically screamed ‘meme me.'”

pic.twitter.com/Iqz1MHTg1p

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 18, 2019

The Twitterverse, of course, was happy to oblige, although they weren’t necessarily as nice as they were earlier this month.

Some took this as a photo-editing opportunity to ask Apple when it would be releasing its next iteration of AirPods.

https://twitter.com/sashadejbakhsh/status/1107629855619928064

Others implied that Apple’s stock might tumble due to its iPad Mini and iPad Air price tags, starting at $399 and $499, respectively without wifi, as it had in January when iPhone sales fell short in China.

https://twitter.com/GeorgeElsham/status/1107624330807132160

Or mocked Apple’s ongoing feud with Spotify.

pic.twitter.com/HE3twmrBfx

— kitze 🚀 (@thekitze) March 18, 2019

In a kinder spin, others looked back to Cook’s reign as Tim Apple.

https://twitter.com/Dimensioner/status/1107622495983726592

Which brings us to the second reason why Cook, or at least Cook’s alter ego, was trending.

#TimApple hit Twitter’s trending sidebar Monday after Trump mocked former Vice President Joe Biden for stumbling on a sentence this weekend. To which many happily responded with a reminder of when Trump mis-stated Cook’s name. (Trump has said that he did it on purpose to save time.)

https://twitter.com/joshgreenman/status/1107632148033482752

Now that #TimApple is trending, had to bring back this old chestnut. pic.twitter.com/RYarjz9AYY

— Drew Forster (@drewforster) March 18, 2019

Although some people have questioned Apple’s ability to successfully create its own content, Cook appears to be doing perfectly well at creating social-friendly original content of his own.

About the Author
By Laura Stampler/TIME
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