Trump says he will make stake deals like Intel 'all day long'

ISTANBUL

President Donald Trump on Monday lauded a deal in which the US government acquired a 10% stake in the chip firm Intel, vowing to continue making similar deals.

"I PAID ZERO FOR INTEL, IT IS WORTH APPROXIMATELY 11 BILLION DOLLARS. All goes to the USA. Why are 'stupid' people unhappy with that?" Trump wrote on US social media company Truth Social.

"I will make deals like that for our Country all day long. I will also help those companies that make such lucrative deals with the United States," he said.

The president emphasized that he "loves" seeing their stock price go up, "making the USA RICHER, AND RICHER."

"More jobs for America!!! Who would not want to make deals like that?" he added.

The White House said Friday that it was acquiring a 10% stake in Intel.

A portion of the approximately $8.9 billion investment will come from grant financing related to the CHIPS Act, while the remainder will come from different government expenditures for initiatives related to the production of secure chips.

Earlier in the day, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CNBC that the Intel move is part of a broader strategy to create a sovereign wealth fund that could include more companies.

“Well, I think this is a very, very special circumstance because of the massive amount of CHIPS Act spending that was coming in,” Hassett said.

"But the president has made it clear all the way back to the campaign, he thinks that in the end, it would be great if the US could start to build up a sovereign wealth fund. So I’m sure that at some point there’ll be more transactions, if not in this industry then in other industries," he noted.

Early in February, Trump signed an order to establish a sovereign wealth fund, a measure that is mainly utilized by smaller nations with abundant natural resources to serve as transaction finance backstops.

Despite being uncommon, the US government's involvement in major firms is not unprecedented, according to Hassett, who cited the holdings in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae during the financial crisis.

The action, Hassett added, is a part of the administration's strategy, which also involves tariffs, to entice more businesses to bring their manufacturing in-house.