The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that in the run-up to President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East, the White House encouraged U.S. chief executive officers to join him. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe says Apple boss Tim Cook declined. The choice appeared to irritate Mr. Trump, a reversal of previously good relations. As he hopscotched from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump took a number of shots at Mr. Cook. During his speech in Riyadh, Mr. Trump paused to praise Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, for travelling along with the White House delegation. Then he knocked Mr. Cook. "I mean, Tim Cook isn't here, but you are," Mr. Trump said to Mr. Huang at an event attended by CEOs such as Larry Fink of BlackRock and Sam Altman of OpenAI. Later, in Qatar, Mr. Trump said he "had a little problem with Tim Cook." The President praised Apple's investment in the United States, then said he had told Mr. Cook, "But now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India." On Friday morning, Mr. Trump caught much of his own administration and Apple's leadership off guard with a social-media post threatening tariffs of 25 per cent on iPhones made anywhere except the U.S.