WASHINGTON – In a dramatic reversal of his public stance, President Donald Trump met with and praised Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Monday, just days after demanding his immediate resignation. The meeting, which Trump called “a very interesting one,” appeared to soothe market anxieties, with the chipmaker’s shares rising 3% in extended trading.
Last week, President Trump injected significant uncertainty into Intel’s turnaround efforts by calling Tan “highly conflicted” over his investment ties to Chinese firms and demanding he step down.
However, in a post on his Truth Social platform following the Monday meeting, Trump’s tone shifted entirely. “His success and rise is an amazing story,” the president said of Tan.
The meeting was also attended by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to Trump, his cabinet members and Tan will bring him suggestions next week, signaling a potential path forward for the embattled CEO and the iconic American company.
The initial conflict stemmed from an April Reuters report detailing Tan’s past investments in numerous Chinese firms, some with alleged links to the Chinese military. While it is not illegal for U.S. citizens to hold such stakes unless the companies are on a specific U.S. Treasury blacklist, the report prompted the president’s call for Tan’s ouster.
The intervention came at a critical time for Intel. In his roughly six months as CEO, Tan has been tasked with a monumental turnaround, undoing years of missteps and attempting to close the gap with rival Nvidia in the booming AI chip market. His strategy has involved divesting assets and restructuring resources, but investors and a former senior employee told Reuters that the president’s public demand for his resignation was a major distraction.
In a statement, Intel confirmed the meeting, describing it as a “candid and constructive discussion on the company’s commitment to strengthening U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.” The company added that it would work closely with the administration to “restore this great American company.”
President Trump’s public call for a CEO’s removal marked a rare instance of direct presidential intervention in corporate leadership. It follows another unusual move where the administration brokered an agreement for chipmakers Nvidia and AMD to pay the U.S. government 15% of their revenue from AI chip sales to China in exchange for export licenses. Together, the events highlight an emerging pattern of direct White House involvement in the affairs of the nation’s key technology firms.
