Mr. Kushner organized a name between Mr. Cook dinner and his father-in-law, President Trump, individuals accustomed to the decision mentioned, giving the Apple chief an opportunity to elucidate how tariffs would improve iPhone costs and impair Apple’s means to compete in opposition to rivals corresponding to

Samsung Electronics Co.

Inside days, the Trump administration scaled again its tariff plan to exempt a swath of electronics merchandise, together with iPhones, saying it wished to guard customers forward of the vacation procuring season. The decision from Mr. Cook dinner influenced the choice, an individual near the administration mentioned.

A day after that transfer, Apple issued a press launch trumpeting job development, saying that since 2011 it had quadrupled the variety of jobs its enterprise helps within the U.S. Later, Mr. Trump publicly praised Mr. Cook dinner’s energy of persuasion, saying the CEO had made a compelling argument about tariffs.

The occasions encapsulated Mr. Cook dinner’s diplomacy within the Trump period. To guard his firm’s pursuits, individuals near the corporate and administration mentioned, the Apple CEO has cultivated a relationship with the president and his household, an unlikely alliance given their contrasting personalities and divergent views on many points.

The rapport between Mr. Cook dinner, a

Hillary Clinton

supporter in 2016 who customary Apple’s outsourcing technique, and Mr. Trump, a Republican who campaigned in opposition to Apple’s China-based manufacturing, has served every man’s pursuits in such areas as commerce and tax reform, at the same time as they continue to be divided over immigration and local weather change.

The nascent impeachment inquiry is unlikely to have a right away impact on the connection, in line with individuals near Apple. Mr. Cook dinner is anticipated to proceed to interact on points associated to the corporate’s enterprise whereas steering away from politics and pushing again on social points.

Mr. Cook dinner serves as an adviser to the administration’s workforce coverage board, and the 2 have dined collectively the previous two summers at Mr. Trump’s golf membership in Bedminster, N.J. Mr. Trump refers back to the Apple CEO as a pal and lauds his enterprise chops. He has known as Mr. Cook dinner to want him a Comfortable Thanksgiving, an individual accustomed to the matter mentioned.

“He’s an excellent government,” Mr. Trump mentioned not too long ago. “Others exit and rent very costly consultants. Tim Cook dinner calls

Donald Trump

instantly.”

Mr. Trump has spent extra of his working time than predecessors with company leaders, mentioned presidential historian

Jeremi Suri,

a professor on the College of Texas at Austin. He mentioned these relationships are inclined to focus extra on administration priorities corresponding to commerce and tariffs than the broader financial system, a focus of previous administrations.

Mr. Cook dinner is without doubt one of the few executives in a hyperpolarized political period who has managed to each assist and problem the president’s agenda in a means that has stored him in Mr. Trump’s good graces whereas avoiding any public backlash from both staff or prospects.

Such engagement has proved dangerous for different chief executives. Dealing with public stress,

Beneath Armour Inc.

’s

Kevin Plank,

Tesla Inc.

’s

Elon Musk

and

Uber Applied sciences Inc.

’s

Travis Kalanick

resigned from presidential advisory councils over disagreements with the administration. An analogous resignation by

Merck

& Co. CEO

Kenneth Frazier,

who publicly criticized the president’s dealing with of violence in Charlottesville, Va., led Mr. Trump to unleash a barrage of tweets castigating the drugmaker for prime costs.

“There are solely a handful [of executives] who’ve been in a position to thread the needle,” mentioned

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,

a Yale College administration professor who has informally suggested Mr. Trump over time earlier than he turned president. “This can be a newfound functionality for Apple.

Steve Jobs

didn’t have affect in Washington, and Tim Cook dinner has supplied it.” He added that Mr. Trump’s volatility means the connection with Mr. Cook dinner may change, however that was unlikely within the close to time period.

Apple declined to make Mr. Cook dinner out there for an interview. The White Home mentioned Mr. Trump declined to remark. (Dow Jones & Co., writer of The Wall Avenue Journal, has a industrial settlement to produce information by way of Apple providers.)

Mr. Cook dinner’s private diplomacy stands out amongst tech giants. Others have sharply elevated their outlays on lobbying lately however haven’t cast shut ties to the administration. Apple’s $18 million in lobbying since 2017 is half of what both

Amazon.com Inc.

or Google’s

Alphabet Inc.

have spent, in line with the Heart for Responsive Politics.

Mr. Cook dinner fostered shut ties with Mr. Kushner and his spouse,

Ivanka Trump,

giving him a backchannel to the White Home. He additionally meets frequently with administration officers corresponding to financial adviser

Larry Kudlow.

Regardless of his private choice for privateness, he has attended publicly promoted dinners and conferences with Mr. Trump, mentioned individuals near Apple and the administration.

Almost 97% of Apple worker donations to candidates within the 2018 midterm elections went to Democrats, in line with the Heart for Responsive Politics, citing public disclosures. But staff haven’t publicly criticized Mr. Cook dinner for partaking with the president. Mr. Cook dinner has challenged the president on some social points. His private lobbying benefited the corporate on the tariff difficulty, and tax modifications that led to worker bonuses.

At a March assembly, President Trump launched Mr. Cook dinner as “Tim Apple”—a mistake that ricocheted throughout social media. Trump supporters laughed, whereas critics painted it as one more presidential gaffe. Mr. Cook dinner responded by updating his identify on Twitter to make use of the Apple emblem instead of his final identify. Presidential supporters learn it as an inside joke between the 2 leaders, whereas opponents interpreted it as a jab on the president.

“There are a whole lot of of us in Silicon Valley who reek of disdainfulness for politics,” mentioned

Sen. Mark Warner

(D., Va.), who frequently meets with Mr. Cook dinner. “They usually presume they’re a lot smarter than anybody in coverage…Tim doesn’t have that strategy. He truly listens.”

Mr. Cook dinner grew up outdoors Cell, Ala., the son of a shipyard employee, and earned an engineering diploma at Auburn College and an M.B.A. from Duke. He’s an operations wizard, expert at minimizing prices. In his earlier function at Apple, he shifted manufacturing from the U.S. to China, and helped construct a enterprise there that accounts for one-fifth of Apple’s income.

Mr. Trump was elected president after promising to rebuild American manufacturing and place tariffs on Chinese language items. “We’re going to get Apple to construct their rattling computer systems on this nation as an alternative of different international locations,” he mentioned throughout a 2016 marketing campaign speech.

The month after his election, Mr. Trump summoned Mr. Cook dinner to satisfy in New York. Apple executives debated skipping the summit, frightened Mr. Trump would air grievances about manufacturing and Apple’s dedication to encrypted iPhones, in line with an individual accustomed to the corporate. However individuals who knew Mr. Trump inspired Mr. Cook dinner to attend, this particular person mentioned.

Mr. Trump was pleasant and charming, mentioned individuals accustomed to the assembly. He informed Mr. Cook dinner he seemed ahead to working collectively and inspired the CEO to contact Mr. Kushner with any points.

Mr. Cook dinner spoke about Apple’s manufacturing practices, drawing a distinction between smartphone manufacturing and car manufacturing, in line with these individuals. A lot of the worth within the iPhone got here from the design and engineering, he mentioned, and the Chinese language staff who did the meeting obtained low wages, so how may these jobs be good for U.S. staff?

He informed Mr. Trump {that a} commerce battle with China can be a giant drawback for main American corporations corresponding to Apple.

Messrs. Trump and Kushner appreciated Mr. Cook dinner’s strategy, and felt he was somebody they might work with, a former senior administration official mentioned.

Mr. Cook dinner got here away from the assembly with a way that Mr. Trump listened and that they might work collectively, one of many individuals accustomed to the corporate mentioned. When Mr. Cook dinner was in Washington the next month, he had dinner with Mr. Kushner and his spouse at Ristorante Tosca.

Their early rapport was examined a month later when Mr. Trump signed an government order suspending entry to the U.S. from a number of Muslim-majority nations. The order disrupted airports and triggered protests at Google, the place 1000’s of individuals staged a walkout.

Mr. Cook dinner, an immigration advocate, was stunned. Apple later informed the administration it disapproved of the measure. Mr. Cook dinner emailed Apple staff, saying he made clear to officers in Washington that the corporate and nation wouldn’t exist with out immigration.

His ties to the White Home, although, remained intact. A number of months later, present and former administration officers mentioned, Ms. Trump known as on Mr. Cook dinner for assist: Would he communicate to her father about his plan to exit from the Paris Local weather Accord?

Mr. Cook dinner’s enchantment to protect the U.S. dedication to the local weather settlement didn’t succeed, these individuals mentioned, nevertheless it allowed him to convey his emotions to the president instantly earlier than sending an e mail to staff that criticized exiting the local weather settlement.

Mr. Cook dinner has mentioned he depends on a easy formulation earlier than weighing in, asking himself: Does Apple have a proper to speak about this? Do we’ve got standing? He speaks out about training, privateness, human rights, immigration and the setting. “I don’t suppose enterprise ought to solely deal in industrial issues,” he mentioned at a convention final yr.

Earlier than difficult Mr. Trump’s insurance policies publicly, although, usually he or a member of Apple’s public-affairs staff alerts the White Home by way of Mr. Kushner or different senior White Home officers, former administration officers mentioned.

At different instances, Mr. Cook dinner holds his tongue. When the president informed the Journal in July 2017 that Mr. Cook dinner promised to construct “three massive vegetation, lovely vegetation” within the U.S., the corporate declined to remark, pointing to previous statements about its reliance on U.S. suppliers for parts.

Whereas Mr. Cook dinner had spoken with the president about manufacturing round that point, the CEO hadn’t mentioned three vegetation within the U.S., an individual accustomed to the corporate mentioned. The CEO didn’t problem Mr. Trump as a result of “it could have been a tweet battle,” the Journal reported final yr, citing one other particular person accustomed to the corporate.

“In being measured and considerate, he doesn’t create disaster when there doesn’t have to be one, or antagonism when there doesn’t have to be any,” one of many former administration officers mentioned of Mr. Cook dinner.

When Mr. Trump started working towards a deliberate tax minimize in 2017, Mr. Cook dinner informed the president that Apple would make investments extra within the U.S. if it may carry its $250 billion in abroad money again to the U.S. at a decrease tax fee, one of many former administration officers mentioned. Mr. Trump later cited Mr. Cook dinner and Apple as he promoted a tax overhaul, this particular person added.

In early 2018, lower than a month after the tax invoice was signed, Apple introduced it could contribute $350 billion to the U.S. financial system over 5 years—a determine that included spending on elements and providers, capital spending and tax funds. Regardless that that was according to Apple’s earlier spending ranges within the U.S., Mr. Cook dinner went on ABC Information to tout the dedication, in addition to Apple’s promise to develop a brand new Apple campus, which it later awarded to Austin, Texas.

Mr. Trump praised Apple later that month throughout the State of the Union tackle, saying its spending was an instance of the advantages of tax cuts.

Over time, the administration started to depend on Mr. Cook dinner for perception into commerce and enterprise points all over the world, together with in China, Brazil and Europe, former and present senior administration officers mentioned.

Commerce remained a significant sticking level. Mr. Cook dinner informed Mr. Trump frequently {that a} commerce battle would hurt U.S. corporations. Mr. Trump usually informed Mr. Cook dinner he wished Apple so as to add jobs within the U.S.

To keep at bay criticism of its abroad manufacturing, Apple rebranded commitments to U.S. manufacturing as spending from an “Superior Manufacturing Fund” program, one of many individuals near the corporate mentioned. Beforehand, comparable spending commitments with suppliers weren’t publicized.

Early this yr, Mr. Cook dinner joined the American Workforce Coverage Advisory Board led by Ms. Trump. The group, which incorporates the CEOs of

Lockheed Martin Corp.

and Siemens USA, goals to assist U.S. employers and the federal government higher prepare staff.

Final yr, when the White Home introduced duties on $200 billion of Chinese language-made items, it exempted a gaggle of merchandise together with Apple’s smartwatch and wi-fi earbuds. However the tariff menace re-emerged in Might when Mr. Trump threatened tariffs on one other $300 billion in Chinese language items. The tariffs would have elevated the value of recent iPhones, on common, by about $40, and lowered Apple’s per-share earnings by greater than 20%, in line with analysts.

Regardless of the tariff menace, Apple made plans to fabricate a brand new model of its Mac Professional in China. The present model of the pc was produced in Austin, Texas.

After the president mentioned in August he deliberate to maneuver ahead with the tariffs, Mr. Cook dinner reached out to Mr. Kushner, who arrange the cellphone name with the president that helped persuade the Trump administration to spare iPhones and different merchandise from tariffs.

The president later mentioned Mr. Cook dinner made the case that tariffs would give Samsung a bonus over Apple as a result of the South Korean firm wouldn’t need to pay duties.

The plea clicked with Mr. Trump, in line with former senior administration officers. He desires to cease international locations corresponding to China from competing unfairly in opposition to the U.S., and for American multinationals to succeed world-wide.

A number of weeks later, Apple reversed its plan for the Mac Professional, asserting it could proceed to make it in Austin, after the administration granted exclusions on tariffs for some Chinese language-made parts within the desktop laptop.

“The explanation I communicate to Tim Cook dinner: He’s the one which calls me,” Mr. Trump mentioned in August.

—Alex Leary and Michael C. Bender contributed to this text.