President Trump, in a media talk at the White House on Friday, shared details of his meeting with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, which led to the US government acquiring a 10% stake in Intel. Intel's shares closed 5.53% higher on Friday amidst broader bullishness in tech stocks and word of a US government stake that aims to alleviate some of the firm's financial problems. In his talk, the President outlined that he liked Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and raised the idea of a 10% US government stake in the firm after Tan visited him following allegations of the executive's ties to China.
US Government's 10% Stake In Intel Is "A Great Deal For Them," Says President Trump
The government's investment in Intel comes as the Trump administration is eager to shore up American manufacturing. Intel enjoys a key role in the government's strategy as it is the only American company that possesses the equipment and skillset to produce leading-edge chips. As part of its efforts, the Trump administration also made Taiwan's TSMC increase its US presence by committing an additional $100 billion to establish a US manufacturing base.
At the White House on Friday, the President recalled his discussions with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, which led to the 10% stake. "He came in and he saw me, we talked for a while," said Trump. "I liked him a lot, I thought he was very good, I thought he was somewhat a victim, but you know, nobody's a total victim, I guess," added the President.
The Intel CEO had visited the White House after concerns about his China ties were raised by a senator. During the discussions, Trump told Tan that he thought the "United States should be given 10% of Intel."
The President then recalled being quite assertive during his discussion. While the Intel CEO's response to him was that he "would consider" Trump's offer, Trump said that he told Tan that "well I'd like you to do that, because, Intel's been left behind, as you know, compared to Jensen and some of our friends. NVIDIA."
Trump then lamented that "Intel was the biggest, most powerful chip company in the world," but had lost its edge to foreign chip manufacturers. Commenting on what he believes are the reasons behind the firm's downfall, he started by pointing out that "they've had some bad management over the years."
Further elaborating on his discussions with Tan and the Intel stake, Trump stressed that "This comes to the United States of America, and I said, I think it would be good having the United States as your partner. He agreed. And they've agreed to do it."
The President then concluded that the US investment is a great deal for Intel:
"And I think it's a great deal. He walked in, wanting to keep his job, and he ended up giving us ten billion dollars for the United States. So we picked up ten billion. And, we do a lot of deals like that. I'll do more of them. If somebody has, like we have restrictive covenants with Jensen, we have, that's NVIDIA."
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