A warm word for Donald Trump can thaw the frostiest of corporate spats. Less than a week after demanding the resignation of Intel chief Lip-Bu Tan, Trump hailed his career as “an amazing story”.
And Intel’s shares jumped on Thursday and Friday amid reports that the Trump administration had discussed an unusual move to acquire an ownership stake as part of a plan to revive the troubled US chipmaker.
All of this followed a meeting Trump described as “very interesting”. Intel’s shares, which fell after Trump accused Tan of being “highly CONFLICTED” over past investments in Chinese chipmakers, duly rebounded.
Tan’s initial sin? Unlike other tech chief executives, noted one Bernstein analyst, he hadn’t “cultivated” a “personal relationship” with Trump.
Intel and Tan have learned their lesson, praising the “honour” of meeting Trump, his “strong leadership,” and reaffirming their commitment to the “America First agenda”.
Such gestures can pay off handsomely. Apple’s Tim Cook gifted Trump a $6,000 Mac Pro in 2019 after he lowered tariffs on parts Apple needed from China, and also gave $1 million to his 2025 inauguration fund.
More recently, he presented a gold-mounted glass plaque praising Trump’s “leadership” and was soon spared from new chip tariffs – another exercise in calculated appeasement.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg has pivoted from banning Trump on Facebook to describing him as “badass” and championing “masculine energy” in the workplace.
However, they pale beside Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, who has lavished praise on Trump’s “utterly visionary” tariffs and insisted: “The president has a plan ... and I trust him.”
The lesson: in Trump’s America, keeping the president’s favour is as critical as any quarterly earnings target.
