Apple CEO gives Trump unique KY-made gift to commemorate $2.5B investment
Commemorating his company’s $2.5 billion investment in Kentucky, Apple CEO Tim Cook gifted President Donald Trump a one-of-a-kind piece of the Bluegrass State during an Oval Office press conference Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Cook revealed a unique engraved glass plaque that was designed for the president at the Harrodsburg plant of Corning Inc.
Corning has manufactured glass covers for Apple products for 18 years, including for the very first iPhone. Now, every iPhone and Apple Watch sold in the world will use cover glass made in Kentucky, Cook announced Wednesday during the news conference.
In a video of the event, Cook could be seen fitting the glass into a 24-karat gold base.
“This glass comes off the Corning line. It’s engraved for President Trump. It’s a unique unit of one,” Cook said of the plaque.
Cook said the plaque was designed for the president by a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal who now works for Apple.
“That’s good,” Trump replied. “He’s done well.”
The president called the plaque “fantastic” and praised the “great people of Kentucky.”
“You’re gonna find it a great place to do business, too,” Trump said. “It’s fantastic.”
Billionaires and large corporations in the U.S., including Apple, are under intense pressure by Trump to reshore manufacturing jobs. Corning’s Harrodsburg factory has an estimated 420 employees and will dedicate it’s entire facility to manufacturing glass for Apple, as well as open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the plant.
The innovation center will play “a key role in the development and engineering of advanced materials and next-generation manufacturing platforms for Apple’s future generations of products,” Apple officials said.
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This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM.