Trump Does A 180 On Intel Chief Following White House Meeting

US President Donald Trump has now reversed his opinion of Intel chief Lip-Bu Tan following their meeting at the White House yesterday, hinting that the two will work more closely together.

Last week, the US leader called for the immediate resignation of Tan over his connections with semiconductor businesses said to be linked to the Chinese government, and the publication of a letter from a Republican Senator raising concerns over the potential threat to national security.

An emergency meeting betwen the pair was subsequently scheduled, and it took place yesterday. As is typical for Trump, he has now back-pedaled and was full of praise for Tan, saying on his Truth Social network: "The meeting was a very interesting one. His success and rise is an amazing story."

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Trump also claimed the Intel chief and members of the US administration are "going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week."

Tan reportedly wanted to discuss with Trump the ways Intel could help serve US government interests, in addition to mollifying him with regard to his business links with Chinese organizations.

Those US government interests are likely to involve maintaining American-owned cutting-edge chip making capabilities, but Intel has been struggling recently and there have been hints that without an injection of new investment, it may seek to quit the manufacturing business, spinning off its fabrication plants and turning Intel into a fabless design company.

Intel's share price, which dipped sharply last week following Trump's initial outburst, rose again yesterday on the news that the two leaders were to meet in person.

In an official statement on its website, Intel welcomed the meeting:

"Earlier today, Mr Tan had the honor of meeting with President Trump for a candid and constructive discussion on Intel's commitment to strengthening US technology and manufacturing leadership. We appreciate the President's strong leadership to advance these critical priorities and look forward to working closely with him and his Administration as we restore this great American company."

It isn't known what the Intel chief said to change Trump's mind, but it fits a pattern of US tech bosses queuing up to flatter the President in exchange for concessions, while kickbacks now seem to be official government policy following the news that Nvidia and AMD will be allowed to resume sales of their GPU products to China in exchange for 15 percent of the revenue earned being paid to Washington. ®