President Trump says Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan must resign over reported China ties

[midian182]

Will Intel ever catch a break? Following yesterday's report that a US Republican Senator has asked questions about CEO Lip-Bu Tan's ties to Chinese companies, President Trump has called on Tan to resign his position at Team Blue immediately. The post caused Intel's shares to fall 5% in premarket trading.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Tan is "highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem."

Trump never said anything else in the post, but it's obviously a reference to the news that US Senator Tom Cotton had sent a letter to Intel's board of directors regarding Tan's ties to Chinese companies, asking whether he had been required to divest from chip firms linked to the Chinese military or Communist Party.

Tan has invested at least $200 million into Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, mostly through his VC firm, Walden. It is not illegal for US citizens to hold stakes in Chinese entites, even when they have ties to the Chinese military, but not if they have been added to the US Treasury's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. Reuters writes that there is no evidence that Tan has invested directly in any company on this list.

Sources say Tan has divested his positions in entities in China, though Reuters reports that many of his investments still appear as active in Chinese databases.

Intel's share price today

Cotton also asked Intel chairperson Frank Yeary if he was aware of the subpoenas sent to Cadence Design Systems during Tan's tenure as CEO – prior to his hiring by Intel – and what measures were being taken to address these concerns. Cadence Design Systems admitted to knowingly exporting restricted electronic design automation tools and semiconductor IP to China's National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) from 2015 to 2021. Tan ran Cadence as CEO from 2008 through 2021, and was executive chairman until May 2023.

What happens now is unclear. Tan joined Intel in March 2025 and has has been cutting costs at the company, including laying off 24,000 workers by the end of the year and putting plans for large new chipmaking "mega-fabs" in Germany and Poland on hold.

With the company's credit rating being slashed to two steps above junk status by Fitch earlier this week, and reports that its 18A process has been hit by low yields and quality issues, putting its manufacturing comeback in doubt, things are looking bad for Intel. Losing its CEO who's only a few months into the job would make things even worse.

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President Trump says Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan must resign over reported China ties

 

[Billybobjoey]

Intel's having a rough week, huh?

 

[Haaky]

Daffy Trump can go F*** himself

 

[guillejp]

Intel's having a rough week, huh?

And Year and Decade.

 

[guillejp]

When the Orange Man doesn't like you and wants to be a pain in the a5s on you and stress investors... Yeah it's not helping, especially in this company's already delicate situation.

 

[BogdanR]

Whatever happened to GOP’s ad nauseam clamoured non interference in the corporate world? Are they now turning commies like China’s “state capitalism” ?
And Trump should not talk about anyone else being “conflicted”. The e—ffing nerve.

 

[RudyBob]

Yep. Get the Chinese out of the USA and back to China. China for the Chinese

 

[AnilD]

Tan's real conflict isn't China, it's the fact that he's trying to fix Intel while it's actively sinking like the Titanic with a hole labeled "18A process" and an orchestra of layoffs playing in the background.

Only these days can a company be two notches above junk, lay off 24k workers, pause multi-billion dollar fabs, and still think their biggest problem is a strongly worded Truth Social post.

 

[axiomatic13]

I've got no love for China, but since when is the GOP OK with Federal influencing/controling the Private Sector? Hypocrites, the lot of you.

 

[Revolution 11]

Tan's real conflict isn't China, it's the fact that he's trying to fix Intel while it's actively sinking like the Titanic with a hole labeled "18A process" and an orchestra of layoffs playing in the background.

Only these days can a company be two notches above junk, lay off 24k workers, pause multi-billion dollar fabs, and still think their biggest problem is a strongly worded Truth Social post.

Sounds like the US is stuck in the start of a Cultural Revolution by the orange man. How Maoist of him.

 

[SRB]

I've got no love for China, but since when is the GOP OK with Federal influencing/controling the Private Sector? Hypocrites, the lot of you.

It's pretty simple, really. If you spend your money, build a company, you can do with it as you please. It's the free market.

When you start a company, lobby for and receive government contracts, apply and receive government money for building chips because your company is too valuable to the country to fail, you have just sold your soul to the government and invited them it to have a say in how it's run.

Especially when you throw a CEO that you hired to fix your chip making business half way through the plan and bring in a "cut and slash the way to profits" CEO, farm your chips out to other fabs to make and have ties to China and Chinese interests. All while threatening to exit the fab business.

I might add that this is far from new. Dems did it during the auto bailouts and let the unions call the shots, and the republicans are doing it to clean out the cesspool of antisemitism from higher education.

 

[dangh]

He isn't even pretending anymore he is president of a democratic country. He, politician is telling corporations how they have to do business to keep him happy. This is pure oligarchy as in ruSSia, or authoritarian capitalism. If he thinks there is conflict of interest he should ask doj to have a look. It he is just king there?

 

[human7]

The Intel board is the group that needs to resign. Hiring the CEO from a company found guilty of (or at least admitting to) violating trade sanctions? That's just sloppy due diligence.

 

[gamerk2]

I've got no love for China, but since when is the GOP OK with Federal influencing/controling the Private Sector? Hypocrites, the lot of you.

If you've *ever* paid attention, the GOP has always enforced it's views at the highest levels of government. They're all for free speech, except for speech they don't like. And so on. NO ONE should be shocked by any of this, because it's what they ALWAYS do.

 

[DrSuess]

This is so funny, MAGA and Republicans have been complaining liberals have been too invasive in their lives but they have no problems being invasive in everyone else's life. They are telling CEOs of public companies to resign, they are asking universities to turn over admission records, forcing Medicaid to turn over personal info of recipients, and setting up national health system to monitor everyone's health. That is more intrusive than any liberal administration has ever been. Its like a scene from 1984.

 

[loki1944]

Absolutely.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Convicted of rape in civil court
convicted of federal fraud
On the epstien list
pays for hookers
sleeps with other husbands wives
Says "grab them by the *****" in the bush interview in regards to any girl

yeah he can say whatever he wants intel wont ditch the ceo, hell lil'trumpy cant even get tiktok ...

What a great christian example lil'trump is ...

 

[wiyosaya]

If you've *ever* paid attention, the GOP has always enforced it's views at the highest levels of government. They're all for free speech, except for speech they don't like. And so on. NO ONE should be shocked by any of this, because it's what they ALWAYS do.

I think the term you are looking for instead of "enforced" is Mandated. And that's unconstitutional, assuming you've ever read or familiarized yourself with the 1st Amendment.

Therefore, the term "hypocrites" applies since the GOP claims to absolutely love and support the constitution.

Its Intel's BOD that either did not do their due diligence with this guy, or just didn't GAS.

And a reminder, Trump is not King of the US.

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

When the Orange Man doesn't like you and wants to be a pain in the a5s on you and stress investors... Yeah it's not helping, especially in this company's already delicate situation.

More likely a bid to lower the stock price so his gang can buy low and sell high afterwards. Just like the whole Tariff nonsense was just market manipulation.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Intel needs to decide. Either sink lower in the depths or try to rise up which will take decades. Or take the easy way out and partner with TSMC to make fast profits. I think partnering may be coming up pretty soon as shareholders get restless. I hate to say this but the U.S. has lost it's fully American manufacturing capabilities.

 

[gamerk2]

And a reminder, Trump is not King of the US.

Only if the courts and Congress enforce as much, which they refuse to do. The courts because they have no enforcement power (and the Supreme Court basically does the "its not our job" whenever the issue comes up) and Congress has no desire to.

Put simply: The system has failed. Trying to fix it is pointless at this point; the problem now isn't Trump, it's the one who follows him and understands the US is ripe for the taking.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I literally LOL reading this headline.

Trump is such a joke.

Now release the Epstein client list!

 

[Tantor]

Trump should resign over Israeli connections. Rumor is that Trump converted to Chabad Judaism back around 2017. His daughter did.

Trump claims to be for free speech, but he's trying to criminalize criticism of Israel. Not criticism of Scandinavia, Japan, or any other nation.

 

[Tantor]

Intel needs to decide. Either sink lower in the depths or try to rise up which will take decades. Or take the easy way out and partner with TSMC to make fast profits. I think partnering may be coming up pretty soon as shareholders get restless. I hate to say this but the U.S. has lost it's fully American manufacturing capabilities.

Trump is trying to protect sensitive information. Iran hit Israel's Kiryat Gat microprocessor center during the 12 day war. I wonder if they took out Intel's $25 billion facility, and this is why Intel's productive capacity has mysteriously disappeared. I admit it's sheer speculation on my part. But Israel made it a criminal offense to reveal war damage.

 

[Tantor]

If you've *ever* paid attention, the GOP has always enforced it's views at the highest levels of government. They're all for free speech, except for speech they don't like. And so on. NO ONE should be shocked by any of this, because it's what they ALWAYS do.

The Democrats do exactly the same thing, my friend. They talk endlessly about 'our democracy', while enforcing policies that half the country hates.