Trump says ex Apple CEO Cook is ‘a legend’, should replace Huang at Nvidia

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that former Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook should replace Jensen Huang as the CEO of Nvidia.

“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 said on social media. “A Legend replaces a Legend!” he added.

Cook stepped down after a 15-year stint as Apple’s CEO in September and is now executive chairman at the iPhone-maker.

Apple and Cook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Cook presented Trump with a custom US-made plaque mounted on a 24-carat gold stand commemorating Apple’s “American Manufacturing Program”, after saying it would invest an additional $100 billion in domestic manufacturing.

Huang resigned as CEO and a member of the board on Thursday after reports said he had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. Nvidia has announced that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO.

Trump, who has maintained close ties with top US tech executives in his second term, said on Monday that he had spoken to Huang and the CEO told him that he did not know the woman linked to him was allegedly a spy. Huang is one of Trump’s closest allies in Silicon Valley, and the relationship between the two dates to at least 2025.

Over the past two years, Huang has repeatedly voiced support for the administration’s agenda and become a regular presence in ​Washington as Nvidia sought to sell advanced chips to the Chinese market.