Intel shares fall sharply; panic after Trump orders CEO to resign

The company's shares fell sharply on Thursday after President Donald Trump demanded the resignation of Intel's CEO in a post on social media. Shares of the California-based company fell 3%, while markets, especially the tech-dominated Nasdaq, rose. Trump wrote on Truth Social, 'Intel's CEO is very confused. He should resign immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for paying attention to this problem!'

Trump posted this after Senator Tom Cotton wrote a letter to Intel Chairman Frank Yerry raising alarm about CEO Lip-Boo Tan's investments and connections with semiconductor firms reportedly connected with the Chinese Communist Party and People's Liberation Army. He asked the board if Tan had sold his interests in these companies to eliminate the conflict of interest.

Cotton specifically criticized Tan's recent leadership of Cadence Design Systems in the letter. The tech company admitted in July to selling its products to China's National University of Defense Technology in violation of US export controls.

Cotton wrote in the letter, "In March 2025, Intel appointed Lip-Boo Tan as its new CEO. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies. He has stakes in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip companies. At least eight of these companies allegedly have ties to the Chinese People's Liberation Army. "

Cotton wrote on the social platform 'X', 'American companies receiving government grants must manage taxpayer money responsibly and follow strict security rules.' Intel has been a beneficiary of the Biden administration's CHIPS Act, receiving more than eight billion dollars in federal funding to build computer chip plants across the country.