The US President had mistakenly referred to him as “Tim Apple”, in a verbal slip, which netizens poked fun at by sharing rib-tickling memes on social media.
At a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump while addressing the leaders of industries appreciated Cook for his "big investment" in the US and referred to the tech executive with a new nickname "Tim Apple".
"We appreciate it very much, Tim Apple," Trump told Cook during a meeting at the White House for the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board to discuss technology education and jobs, The Guardian reported.
Trump then reportedly went on about the "invasion" of immigrants over the southern border and human trafficking which he said had been going on for "a million years", according to the Evening Standard.
A video featuring Trump and Cook also went viral on all social media platforms as users posted memes pertaining to the incident.
"We have so many companies coming in. People like Tim, you're expanding all over and doing things that I really wanted you to do right from the beginning. I used to say, 'Tim, you've got to start doing it over here', and you really have. I mean, you've really put a big investment in our country. We appreciate it very much, Tim Apple," Trump said.
Cook responded to the funny side of the situation by changing his Twitter name to "Tim Apple" on Thursday, with the Apple an emoji of his company's logo, ABC News reported.
Trump is known for using nicknames and 'mispronouncing names' of people such as "Jeff Bozo" in reference to Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Last year, he had called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson "Marillyn Lockheed."