On May 18, U.S. President Trump told Fortune magazine that when striking the deal to acquire a stake in Intel, the government ‘should have demanded a larger ownership percentage.’ In 2025, the Trump administration invested roughly $10 billion in Intel to support the construction or expansion of chip manufacturing plants across the United States, securing about 9.9% of the company’s shares. Approximately eight to nine months later, the value of this stake surpassed $50 billion; Intel’s stock price has risen over 300% since the deal was finalized, with April 2026 alone witnessing a doubling of the share price—the best monthly performance in Intel’s 55-year history on NASDAQ. During the interview, Trump asked rhetorically: ‘Have I gotten the recognition I deserve? Does anyone even know I did this?’
When questioned about the government’s exit strategy, Trump suggested gradual divestment would not cause any collapse in Intel’s stock price. He also remarked that ‘Intel ought to be the largest company worldwide now,’ implying that under his earlier leadership, Intel could have captured market share currently held by TSMC. Lip-Bu Tan, Intel’s CEO, stated during the company’s April earnings call that ‘CPUs are once again becoming indispensable foundations in the AI era,’ noting demand for data-center CPUs currently exceeds supply; Bank of America forecasts the overall CPU market to more than double in size by 2030. In the same interview, Trump claimed the United States ‘far outpaces’ China in the AI domain, emphasizing how ‘winning this competition is absolutely vital.’