Trump says Tim Cook should replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO

The Suggestion

In the Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Huang had done a fantastic job and that, now that he had resigned, there was only one man to take his place: Tim Cook of Apple. The post concluded with the sentence, "A Legend replaces a Legend!"

The statement was framed as a personal recommendation from the president. It did not cite any discussion with Nvidia, with its board of directors, or with Cook. No accompanying statement from the White House elaborated on the post, and no official channel has indicated that the suggestion reflects a formal process of any kind.

The Resignation

Huang resigned on Thursday as president, chief executive officer and member of the board of Nvidia, effective immediately. The resignation ended a tenure of 33 years at the company he co-founded in 1993. Under his leadership, Nvidia grew from a graphics processor company into the most valuable supplier of the accelerators that power large-scale artificial intelligence systems.

Nvidia announced the transition in an official release on Thursday. The company did not state a reason for the resignation in the announcement, and the statement did not address the reports that had circulated in preceding days about pressure on Huang. Reporting by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times had described an investigation by the board and allegations concerning Huang, but those reports remain attributed claims rather than established findings. Reuters has reported that it could not independently verify the allegations.

The Interim Leadership

Nvidia named Colette Kress, the chief financial officer, as interim chief executive officer. The company also named Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair, a newly created role. The appointments were announced in the same release that confirmed the resignation.

Kress has served as chief financial officer since 2013 and is among the longest-serving members of the senior leadership team. Her appointment as interim chief executive provides continuity while the board conducts a search for a permanent successor. The company has stated that the board will consider internal and external candidates.

Cook's Position at Apple

Cook stepped down as chief executive of Apple in September 2026, when John Ternus succeeded him. Cook remains at Apple as executive chairman, a role that keeps him involved in the company's governance while day-to-day operations rest with his successor.

Cook led Apple for fifteen years, from 2011 to 2026. During that period, the company expanded its services business, entered new product categories including wearable devices and spatial computing, and maintained its position among the most valuable public companies in the world. Cook has not commented publicly on Trump's suggestion, and no statement from Apple has addressed it.

A Reversal in Tone

Trump's suggestion represents a sharp change in his public position on Huang. Days earlier, on 8 and 9 November, the president had publicly defended Huang, describing him as a fine person and an honorable guy and stating that he should remain in his position. The defence came as reports of board scrutiny of Huang were circulating.

The reversal is the second notable shift in the sequence of events. On 10 November, prominent technology figures including Elon Musk and Tim Sweeney publicly urged Nvidia's board to retain Huang. Two days later, Huang resigned, and the president who had defended him then proposed his replacement.

Why It Matters

The suggestion matters because of the scale of the company involved. Nvidia supplies the majority of the accelerators used to train and operate large artificial intelligence models, and its market value has made it one of the most closely watched companies in the world. A change of chief executive at the company is a matter of direct interest to investors, to customers in the technology industry, and to policymakers who regard advanced semiconductors as a strategic asset.

The suggestion also matters because of the identity of the proposed successor. Cook is one of the most experienced operating executives in the technology industry, and his record at Apple is widely regarded as a standard for supply-chain management and operational discipline. A move from Apple to Nvidia would be one of the most consequential executive transitions in the history of the technology sector.

At the same time, the suggestion has no standing in the appointment process. The selection of a chief executive is a decision of the board of directors, and Nvidia has given no indication that it has approached Cook or that Cook would accept such a role. The distinction between a public suggestion and a formal candidacy is central to the reporting of this development.

What Happens Next

Nvidia's board will now conduct a search for a permanent chief executive. The company has stated that it will consider internal and external candidates, and the appointment of an interim chief executive and a first board chair indicates that the board intends to manage the transition in an orderly manner.

Three questions will determine the course of the search. The first is whether the board looks inside the company, where senior executives with direct experience of the accelerator business are available, or outside it, where a candidate of Cook's profile would be considered. The second is whether Cook responds to the suggestion at all, since his silence to date leaves the proposal without a counterpart. The third is whether the president returns to the subject, since further public comment could alter the pressure on the board even without any formal authority over the decision.

Until those questions are answered, the suggestion remains what it was when it was posted: a public recommendation by the president of the United States, not a decision by the board of Nvidia, not an appointment, and not a confirmed candidacy.

Source: The Wall Street Journal live coverage; Al Jazeera liveblog; New Straits Times (AFP wire); NDTV; official Nvidia announcement, 12 November 2026.