The 'Tim Apple' meme originated from a March 2019 meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, where President Donald Trump accidentally referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as 'Tim Apple.' The clip went viral instantly, with the internet finding humor in the president's penchant for nicknames and the literal branding of the CEO. Tim Cook himself leaned into the joke by briefly changing his Twitter profile name to 'Tim .' The meme is widely used to poke fun at corporate identity, linguistic slips, or to mock tech industry culture by simplifying complex executive roles into literal brand associations.