Apple Computer has decided to stand up for what it believes. The Huffington Post is reporting that the computer giant will entirely boycott the Republican Convention.
Apple has announced that it won’t provide money or any technical support to the GOP Convention in July. As one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, Apple’s decision carries a great deal of weight, and may impact the decisions of other companies.
Apple has made its decision based on the behavior and language of Donald Trump, who is expected to become the Republican nominee at the convention in Cleveland. The company spoke specifically about Trump’s comments on women, immigrants and other minority groups.
A PAC called ColorOfChange has been encouraging companies to boycott the GOP in order to make a stand against Trump’s bigotry and hatred. Most big corporations like Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have pledged support for the convention, but Apple joins Hewlett-Packard in making a stand against bigotry.
ColorOfChange spokesman Rashad Robinson said:
“The Apple news raises the bar for other corporations. Not only has Apple declined to support the Republican National Convention, but they’ve explicitly told Republican leaders that Trump’s bigoted rhetoric is the reason that they’re sitting out. This is what real corporate responsibility looks like.”
This is not the first time that Apple Computer has run into a conflict with Donald Trump. Last February when the FBI was struggling to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino killer, Apple refused to provide inside information to help them. Trump immediately called for a boycott of all Apple products in protest.
Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Trump later admitted that he used an iPhone, but claimed that he’d put it away if Apple didn’t comply with the FBI request.
The Republicans, predictably, are brushing off Apple’s boycott. The spokeswoman for the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee claims that they have already raised nearly all of the money they need, and won’t be hurt by Apple’s action.
While the respective parties raise a great deal of the money for their increasingly expensive conventions, non-profit host committees are also raising funds. The non-profits can accept direct cash donations from corporations, which the party-run groups are not allowed to do.
Its unclear how much of an impact Apple’s boycott of the Republican convention will do, but I know that I intend to get myself a new iPhone as soon as humanly possible.
Featured image via Wikipedia
