Intel CEO and President Trump Patch Things Up After Public Dispute

Just the other day, US President Donald Trump publicly called for the firing of Intel CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. It was unclear how this would play out, but it seems that all is good again. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump praised Tan following a meeting between both Trump and the CEO.

Donald Trump and Intel CEO make up

According to Donald Trump, he praised the Intel CEO, calling his success and rise an “amazing story.”

“I met with Mr. Lip-Bu Tan, of Intel, along with Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent. 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!”

Before this, Tan had published a letter to Intel employees in which he insisted that he has “always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.” He also said that Intel was in communication with the White House to address the issues that have been raised. We’re not sure what will become of this and if Trump will leave Tan and Intel alone now, so we’ll have to wait and see.

What was the fuss about?

We’ve seen Trump call out organizations and individuals in the past. However, his target has mostly been news organizations, especially those that publish reports that paint him in a negative light. He has also sparred with others online. However, his call out of Tan was a little strange.

Tan doesn’t have much of a public profile. Granted, he is the CEO of Intel, but other than a LinkedIn profile and a Facebook account that doesn’t appear to be updated since 2023, he doesn’t really have a social media presence. So, it felt odd that Trump called him out. 

However, it seemed that Trump’s calling out of Tan had to do with an earlier Reuters investigation. It found that Tan had made several investments in Chinese firms, some of which had ties to the People’s Liberation Army.

Given the US-China trade war, Trump seemed to think that Tan’s investments were a “conflict.”