Trump names Cook as Nvidia CEO pick

President Donald Trump proposed Tim Cook as the next chief executive of Nvidia on Thursday, days after Jensen Huang stepped down from the role. Cook resigned as Apple CEO on September 1 and now serves as executive chairman of the company.

Huang announced his resignation this morning following reports of personal affairs, including one involving an alleged Chinese spy. Nvidia’s chief financial officer currently leads the chipmaker on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent successor.

Trump shared his preference for Cook on Truth Social shortly after the resignation news broke. He described Huang’s tenure as fantastic but argued that only one man should replace him. The post read, “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 added that a legend is replacing a legend.

The president expanded on the idea during a new episode of Stephen A. Smith’s Straight Shooter podcast released today. He claimed Apple would not be what it is today if Steve Jobs were still alive. Trump said Cook took brilliant ideas from Jobs and transformed them into one of the world’s great companies in a short period. He called Cook a great candidate to run Nvidia.

During the interview, Trump said he spoke with Huang yesterday. He described Huang as being “going through hell” and noted that the former CEO feels most bad about his wife and family. Trump said Huang told him directly what he had done to his family was the primary concern. The president characterized Huang as a tremendous talent and said he knows him pretty well.

Apple and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Trump’s suggestion. Cook maintains a public relationship with Trump, including gifting the president a 24-karat gold and glass statue last year. When Cook announced his transition plan earlier this year, Trump posted a story about having the head of Apple call to kiss his ass.