Trump praises Intel boss, share price rises

Donald Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan just a few days ago. On Monday, Tan visited the US President in the White House. Intel then spoke of an “open and constructive discussion about Intel's commitment to strengthening US leadership in technology and manufacturing.” Mr. Trump was impressed: “The meeting was a very interesting one. (Mr. Tan's) success and rise is an inspiring story”.

The announcement of Tan's visit to the White House already supported Intel's share price, which rose 3.5 percent on Monday. After the meeting, the shares rose a further two percent to the day's closing price in after-hours trading. In addition to Tan and Trump, the meeting was attended by Trade Minister Howard Lutnick and Finance Minister Scott Bessent.

It is not known exactly what the men discussed. After the meeting, Trump announced that his cabinet and Tan would “spend time with each other”. They are to submit “proposals” next week.

Tan has been Chief Executive Officer of the loss-making computer chip company Intelsince mid-March. From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the board of directors of the chip company. Prior to that, from 2008 to 2021, the Malaysian-born CEO ran the company Cadence Design Systems. It offers software for chip development (Electronic Design Automation, EDA), the design tools.

Cotton's furor and Trump's demand

On Wednesday, Trump's party colleague and Senator Tom Cotton posed critical questions to Intel's Board of Directors. The Texan politician expressed his concern about Tan's links to and involvement in Chinese computer chip companies, which allegedly have links to the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China.

Cotton also pointed out that Cadence had just pleaded guilty to evading export bans to China. Cadence has admitted to supplying the Chinese National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) with design tools for years, even though the university has been under a US embargo since 2015 due to its links to the Chinese military. This happened via third-party companies from 2015 to 2020, when Tan was CEO of Cadences.

As a result, Trump demanded Tan's resignation. Tan initially responded with a circular to his staff, which was also published immediately. In it, he emphasized his love for the United States and Intel and underlined that he would act in accordance with the “highest legal and ethical standards”. He did not really deny the allegations themselves but only spoke in general terms of “a lot of misinformation” about his previous activities. The canossa trip to Washington followed on Monday.

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