Trump praises Intel CEO days after demanding resignation
Lip-Bu Tan seeks to reassure president amid China ties controversy and AI turnaround push.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Monday, just days after calling for his resignation, praising Tan and describing the meeting as “a very interesting one.”
Shares of the chipmaker rose 3% in extended trading following the announcement.
Last week, Trump had demanded Tan’s immediate resignation, calling him “highly conflicted” over his ties to Chinese firms. The move injected uncertainty into Intel’s years-long turnaround effort.
Trump said he met with Tan alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to Trump’s post on Truth Social, the group will present suggestions to him next week.
“I met with Mr. Lip-Bu Tan, of Intel, along with Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The meeting was a very interesting one. His success and rise is an amazing story. Mr. Tan and my Cabinet members are going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Intel confirmed the meeting. “Earlier today, Mr. Tan had the honor of meeting with President Trump for a candid and constructive discussion on Intel’s commitment to strengthening U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.”
Reuters reported in April that Tan had invested in hundreds of Chinese firms, some linked to the Chinese military. It is not illegal for U.S. citizens to hold stakes in Chinese companies unless those companies appear on the U.S. Treasury’s Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, which explicitly bans such investments.
Tan was brought in to reverse years of missteps that left Intel lagging in the booming AI chip industry dominated by Nvidia, while the company’s contract manufacturing ambitions resulted in heavy losses.
In roughly six months as CEO, Tan has made major strategic shifts, divesting assets, laying off employees, and redirecting resources. But the public call for his resignation could distract from that mission, investors and a former senior Intel employee told Reuters.
Tan is now working to convince Trump that he is still the right person to lead Intel’s revival. Intel said the meeting was a “candid and constructive discussion” about the company’s commitment to strengthening U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership. The company pledged to work closely with the administration to “restore this great American company.”
Trump’s intervention marked a rare instance of a U.S. president publicly calling for the ouster of a corporate CEO, raising questions about presidential influence over private companies. This was underscored by a recent agreement requiring Nvidia and AMD to give the U.S. government 15% of their China-related revenue.
