President Apple

18 Mar 2012

Inspired by a tweet and a lil curiosity, I wanted to see if Apple could hold the office of President of the United States of America.


Let’s see.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets the principal qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of president. A president must be:

Born in the United States: Check, Apple Inc. was incorporated in Cupertino, California, U.S.

At least 35 years old: Check, incorporated January 3, 1977, originally as Apple Computer, Inc.

Have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least the last 14 years: Check, Apple has been headquartered at Apple Campus, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, U.S. since 1992, and has has been located in Cupertino since it’s founding in 1976. (Some may dispute this given that the majority of their products are manufactured in China, but those are subcontractors not their actual employees or offices.)

Additionally…

A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of president under any of the following conditions:

No person can be elected president more than twice: Check, never been President before.

Upon conviction in impeachment cases, the Senate has the option of disqualifying convicted individuals from holding other federal offices, including the presidency: Check, never been impeached.

No person who swore an oath to support the Constitution, and later rebelled against the United States, can become president: Check, no rebellion that I’ve ever heard of.

Given that corporations are people now, I can’t think of any reason why Apple Inc. couldn’t run for President. I guess the only questions remaining is, representing which party?