Trump backs Apple’s Tim Cook to replace Huang at Nvidia

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Apple executive chairman Tim Cook should be Nvidia's ↘ 5.25% next chief executive. He made the suggestion hours after Jensen Huang resigned from the chipmaker he co-founded, following reports of two extramarital affairs.reuters.com

"NOW THAT Nvidia CEO JENSEN HUANG, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "A Legend replaces a Legend!". Both Axios and the Washington Examiner said it was unclear whether Trump meant it as a joke.cnbc.com+3

A search for a permanent leader

This was Trump's first public comment on Huang's departure. Cook left the Apple CEO job on Sept. 1 after holding it since 2011, and he is now the company's executive chairman. According to CNN, he has not said publicly that he is interested in working at Nvidia.usatoday.com+1

Nvidia's board met late Wednesday and accepted Huang's resignation as CEO, president and board member, effective immediately. It named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO and appointed former Synopsys ↗ 0.27% CEO Harvey C. Jones as the company's first board chair. The board said it will consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent job. Names reported as possible successors include Kress, Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji, AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ↗ 5.45% CEO Lisa Su and Arm ↘ 1.77% CEO Rene Haas. Nvidia shares fell sharply when trading opened.theverge.com+1

Scandal and political fallout

Huang stepped down after The New York Times reported that he had a relationship with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based executive whom U.S. officials suspect of spying for China. On Wednesday, the Times reported a second affair, this one with an Nvidia executive who reported directly to him. The FBI is investigating the first relationship, and China has rejected the spying allegations.amp.dw.com+3

Trump's post did not mention the controversy. Earlier in the week he had defended Huang, calling him an "honorable guy". CNN reported that Trump was briefed on the relationship earlier this year but chose not to act.axios.com+2

Reaction in Congress was sharper. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Huang "did the right thing" by resigning. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the resignation "does not absolve him, other executives, or the company as a whole of responsibility for putting our national security at risk".washingtonexaminer.com+1