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

​US President Donald Trump said ‌on Thursday ​that former Apple Inc 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.