I suppose it’s never a good idea to assume consistency with the Trump administration, given the record of flip flops. So shame on me for not seeing this particular flippy flop coming, as just one week after calling for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s resignation, the US President has called his “success and rise” an “amazing story”, and has hinted at possible collaboration with Intel.
Speaking on Truth Social after meeting with the Intel CEO yesterday, Trump says: “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 also spoke positively about 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. We appreciate the President’s strong leadership to advance these critical priorities and look forward to working closely with him and his Administration as we restore this great American company.”
Talk of the president’s “strong leadership” from Tan isn’t exactly a surprise, given what we’ve seen from previous tech CEOs. I suppose it makes sense for these companies to stay on Trump’s good side.
Recent pleasantries aside, last week, despite the president not having the ability to force Tan’s resignation, Trump said, “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”
That “conflict” was in reference to Tan’s alleged ties to China. He was previously CEO of Cadence Design Systems, and this company pleaded guilty this year and agreed to pay over $140 million for “unlawfully exporting semiconductor design tools to a restricted PRC Military University.” It’s also been reported by Reuters that the Intel CEO invested $200 million or more in hundreds of Chinese companies between 2012 and 2024.
It is worth noting that such investments in Chinese companies isn’t necessarily strange, if you’re running a diverse investment portfolio. It could very well be just business, as they say.
Perhaps Lip-Bu Tan relayed something similar to Trump, resulting in the flipped opinion. Y’know, appeal to the business mogul side of the ex-Apprentice host US president.
Or, perhaps it was the national importance of Intel, and Tan’s commitment to the company as a bastion of US technology, that he laid on heavy. The CEO had previously mentioned the possibility of ditching its 14A process, and some interpreted this as a way to get the US gov to the table to help out, because it probably won’t want to let the all-American tech company disappear entirely.
Trump’s talk of “spending time together” and “bringing suggestions to me” certainly reinforces this idea. And with former Intel board members arguing for Intel fabs to be bought up by the likes of Nvidia, Qualcomm, Broadcom, et al, to create an “American Foundry”, the president must be keenly aware of the national importance of the US chip giant and its future.
Still, that doesn’t explain why the flip concerning Lip-Bu Tan specifically. Maybe it was just a way to get the Intel CEO to the table quicker and more ready to discuss US-first solutions. Whatever the case, he seems to be back in Trump’s good books, for now.
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