In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump reflected on the U.S. government’s decision to acquire a minority share in Intel. He told Fortune that during his meeting with Intel CEO Lip‑Bu Tan, he initially asked for a 10% ownership stake at no cost, and after the deal was struck, he remarked that he should have pushed for a larger portion of the company.

Trump argued that, had he remained in office, tariffs and other protective measures would have kept more chip production in the United States, making Intel the world’s largest semiconductor firm and reducing reliance on Taiwan’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which now boasts a market value far exceeding Intel’s.

The government’s involvement began in August when the U.S. Commerce Department announced that the United States had taken a 9.9% equity position in Intel. The stake was formed by converting previously awarded CHIPS Act grants—$5.7 billion in pending funds and $3.2 billion from other programs—into shares. Since that conversion, Intel’s share price has surged more than 300%, marking its strongest performance in decades and fueling speculation about new partnerships, including a tentative chip‑supply deal with Apple and comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk about using future Intel processors for his massive Terafab project.

Industry analysts note that the rally coincides with a broader resurgence in demand for central processing units (CPUs) as AI workloads grow. Bank of America projects the CPU market could more than double by 2030, and Intel’s own leadership has emphasized that CPUs are becoming a critical bottleneck in AI development. Trump concluded by asserting that the United States is significantly outpacing China in the artificial‑intelligence race and that maintaining a competitive edge remains essential.