CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports on U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s announcement that the United States government now owns 10% of Intel.
BREAKING: President Trump announced the United States will be taking a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel, as part of a deal negotiated by Trump and Lutnick WOW! When asked why no other President did this, Trump said “because we were run by STUPID PEOPLE!”
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump announced the United States will be taking a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel, as part of a deal negotiated by Trump and Lutnick
WOW!
When asked why no other President did this, Trump said “because we were run by STUPID PEOPLE!” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZgivL3qi1B
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 22, 2025
Trump Administration’s Bold America First Move: Securing a Stake in Intel to Revive U.S. Chip Dominance and Counter China
In a revealing fast clip shared on Money.Whatfinger.com, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dropped a bombshell: the U.S. government now owns 10% of Intel, a historic equity stake aimed at bolstering American semiconductor manufacturing and national security.
Lutnick’s statement underscores the Trump administration’s aggressive America First strategy, converting Biden-era grants into ownership to ensure taxpayer dollars yield real returns and keep critical tech out of communist China’s hands. This isn’t government overreach—it’s smart patriotism, ensuring Intel’s revival benefits Main Street Americans, not globalist elites. As conservatives rally behind this move, it signals a new era where the federal government invests strategically in key industries, contrasting sharply with past socialist bailouts that bloated the bureaucracy and wasted billions. The deal, announced by President Trump on August 22, 2025, involves the U.S. acquiring 433.3 million shares of Intel stock at $20.47 per share, totaling $8.9 billion.
This equity stake stems from repurposing $5.7 billion in unp aid CHIPS Act grants and $3.2 billion from the Secure Enclave program, programs originally pushed under Biden but now weaponized by Trump to demand accountability. Intel, struggling against foreign competitors like TSMC, gets a lifeline to expand U.S.-based fabs, creating thousands of high-paying jobs and reducing reliance on Asian supply chains vulnerable to Chinese aggression. Trump hailed it as a “great deal,” emphasizing how it positions America to dominate AI and defense tech, preventing Beijing from stealing our innovations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced this, stating the stake stabilizes Intel while advancing domestic chip production—pure America First economics. Critics within conservative circles, like Sen. Rand Paul, decry it as “socialism,” but that’s missing the point: this isn’t a bailout for failure; it’s an investment in victory against global threats. Unlike Obama’s handouts that propped up cronies, Trump’s approach ties funding to performance, ensuring Intel delivers on Secure Enclave commitments for trusted DoD semiconductors.
President Donald Trump said Friday that American chipmaker Intel had agreed to give the U.S. government a 10% stake, which amounts to roughly $10 billion. https://t.co/BC4qtJTT1F pic.twitter.com/lFyEiT2uu6
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) August 22, 2025
With Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan facing scrutiny over China ties, this stake gives Uncle Sam oversight to root out foreign influence and prioritize American workers. The Intel deal is just the beginning. The Trump administration is eyeing equity stakes in other CHIPS Act recipients, converting grants into ownership to maximize returns for taxpayers. While not pursuing stakes in firms like TSMC or Micron that are already ramping up U.S. investments, the White House is reallocating $2 billion from CHIPS funds to critical minerals—essential for chips and EVs—to build domestic supply chains.
Trump has already secured massive commitments: Micron’s $200 billion for memory chips, TSMC’s $100 billion for advanced fabs, and stakes in Nvidia for AI dominance and MP Materials for rare earths. These moves, coupled with 100% tariffs on foreign semiconductors, force companies to manufacture here, creating jobs and thwarting China’s tech theft. It’s industrial policy done right—pro-America, anti-communist, and fiscally smart. Compare this to past federal forays into company ownership, which conservatives rightly lambasted as crony capitalism and big government overreach. During the 2008 crisis, Obama’s administration bailed out GM with $50 billion, taking a 60% stake that cost taxpayers $10 billion in losses when sold—pure socialism rewarding union bosses and failing executives.
If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?
Terrible idea.
What to know about the US getting a stake in Intel | AP News https://t.co/3UHCM39NUB
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 20, 2025
AIG’s $180 billion handout gave the feds 80% ownership, propping up Wall Street fat cats while Main Street suffered. These were handouts, not investments, bloating the deficit and entrenching bureaucracy. Clinton’s regulatory explosion stifled businesses, while Bush’s TARP funneled $700 billion to banks with minimal oversight, fueling the swamp. Conservatives like those at Cato have long decried such corporate welfare, totaling $181 billion annually, as gateway to cronyism.
Trump’s strategy flips the script: equity ensures accountability, profits flow back to taxpayers, and focus on strategic sectors counters adversaries. No more endless subsidies like Obama’s Solyndra fiasco, where $535 million vanished into green energy cronies. This is Reagan-Thatcher privatization in reverse—government as smart investor, not meddlesome owner. As Bessent noted, it’s about stabilizing U.S. chip production, not running companies. In an era of Chinese aggression, Trump’s Intel stake is a masterstroke—securing tech sovereignty, jobs, and economic might. While some purists cry foul, true conservatives see it as essential to Make America Great Again. With more deals on the horizon, this administration is rewriting the rules for American dominance.
Links
- Trump has no business taking a stake in Intel
- Intel agrees to give US 10% stake in company
- Trump Says Intel Agreed to Give US a Stake in Its Company
- Trump: Intel Strikes Deal with U.S. for 10 Percent Equity Stake
- Trump administration Intel proposal criticized as ‘socialism’ by conservatives
- The US government shouldn’t buy into Intel
- Bessent: Intel Stake Aimed at US Chip Production
- US Weighs Taking a Stake in Intel
- Trump Not Eyeing Equity in Firms Upping US Investment: WSJ
- Report: Trump Admin Said to Discuss Taking 10% in Intel
- Trump administration pay-to-play tactics on AI chip sales to China?
- Trump’s troublesome turn toward state capitalism
- Trump announces 100% tariffs on semiconductors as Apple unveils $100 billion investment
- Evening Edition: How The President’s Big Chip Deal Is A Blow To China
- Corporate Welfare in the Federal Budget
- Options for Federal Privatization and Reform Lessons from Abroad
- Defining an Ownership Society
- Big Business and Big Government
- Industrial Policy was the Gateway Drug to Cronyism
- Margaret Thatcher’s Privatization Legacy
- Downsizing the Federal Government
- The Public Domain And Nineteenth Century Transfer Policy
- Cato Testimony on Budget, Property Rights, and More
- Restoring Responsible Government by Cutting Federal Aid to the States
- The Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act: Myth and Reality
- The Clinton Regulatory Legacy
- The conservative case for public lands
- Conservative Ideology and the Environment
- Why the Federal Government Fails
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