November 12, 2026, (Inside AI) — US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that former Apple chief executive Tim Cook should take over as CEO of Nvidia, following the resignation of Jensen Huang amid reports of an affair with a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US authorities of espionage.
In a post on social media, Trump wrote: "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." He added: "A Legend replaces a Legend!"
The endorsement lands at a volatile moment for the world's most valuable chipmaker. Huang stepped down from both the CEO role and his board seat on Thursday. Nvidia has named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim CEO. Neither Apple nor Cook responded immediately to requests for comment.
Cook left the Apple CEO job in September after 15 years and now serves as the company's executive chairman. His relationship with the current administration has been carefully cultivated. Last year he presented Trump with a custom US-made plaque on a 24-carat gold stand, marking Apple's "American Manufacturing Program" and a pledge to invest an additional $100 billion in domestic manufacturing.
Trump's intervention is unusual even by the standards of his second term, during which he has kept close ties with top technology executives. On Monday he said he had spoken with Huang, who told him he did not know the woman linked to him was allegedly a spy. Huang has been one of Trump's closest allies in Silicon Valley, a relationship that dates to at least 2025. Over the past two years Huang repeatedly voiced support for the administration's agenda and became a regular presence in Washington as Nvidia sought permission to sell advanced chips to the Chinese market.
Washington's Grip On Chip Leadership Tightens
The resignation creates a leadership vacuum at a company whose chips underpin most of the world's AI infrastructure. Nvidia's board must now decide whether to conduct a conventional search or accept a political steer from the White House. Kress, a finance executive with no public record of running product divisions, inherits a company navigating export controls, a sprawling supply chain and fierce competition in AI accelerators.
Cook's record at Apple offers both a template and a warning. He built the iPhone maker into a services and supply-chain powerhouse, but he never managed a semiconductor design house at Nvidia's scale. His appointment would also raise immediate questions about Apple's own AI chip ambitions and whether a sitting executive chairman of one company can lead another without conflicts.
The broader signal matters more than the individual. A presidential post naming a private company's next CEO is a remarkable blurring of the line between government and corporate governance. Nvidia's customers, including hyperscalers and governments building sovereign AI capacity, will read the move as evidence that Washington intends to keep a hand on the tiller of critical chip supply. That perception could complicate Nvidia's already delicate position in export negotiations with Beijing.
Trump's phrasing also reveals how he frames the episode. He praised Huang's performance even as he welcomed his departure, and he elevated Cook to legendary status in the same breath. The post did not address the espionage allegations directly, leaving the company and the board to manage the reputational fallout.
Huang's exit follows reports that he had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. The allegations have not been proven in court, and Inside AI could not independently verify the underlying claims. Nvidia has not commented beyond confirming the resignation and the interim appointment.
For Cook, the endorsement is a double-edged compliment. It ties him closer to a president he has spent years courting with manufacturing pledges, but it also drags him into a national security controversy he did not seek. Apple's board has not indicated whether it would permit its executive chairman to take a second full-time role.
Nvidia's shares and its standing with customers will depend on how quickly the board clarifies its process. A prolonged interim period under a CFO could unsettle partners racing to secure GPU capacity for 2027 data center buildouts. The company has not set a timeline for a permanent appointment.
Trump's habit of commenting on corporate leadership is not new, but naming a successor for a company he does not control is. The episode will be watched closely in Taipei, Seoul and The Hague, where governments weigh whether US chip policy is now personal as well as strategic.
If a research paper dropped this week, Mahesh has already read it. He covers AI tools and vibe coding for builders who need to know what is worth their time and what is not.
