Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger joins ‘Claman Countdown’ to react to Intel’s CES chip announcement and President Trump’s support for expanding US manufacturing.
Intel unveiled a new chip production milestone this week, but former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the United States still has a long way to go to bring chip production back to Asia.
“The metric [is] however, how many wafers are made in America,” Gelsinger said Friday on “The Claman Countdown.”
“That’s all that matters,” he added.
Gelsinger’s warning comes as the Trump administration has moved to bolster US chip production, take a stake in Intel and push to bring advanced semiconductor production back to US soil.
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Patrick Gelsinger, former CEO of Intel Corp., appears at the 2024 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 9, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Most of the world’s advanced chip manufacturing is still concentrated in Asia, particularly Taiwan. US officials have said the imbalance creates economic and national security problems.
Gelsinger said it is important for manufacturing to return to the United States, while cautioning that progress will take time.
“It’s hard to win that production back. You know it took decades to get into Asia. It’s not coming back quickly,” he said.
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President Donald Trump met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan at the White House this week, later praising the company on social media and calling the meeting “great.”
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel Corp., leaves after a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 11, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The president also said that the US government is “proud to own shares of Intel.” In August, the US government seized a nearly 10% stake in the chip maker as part of a broader national security plan. Advanced computers are essential in the military, everyday electronics and other fields to stay competitive in the AI race.
On Thursday, Tan responded to Trump’s praise, writing on X, “I am honored and grateful for the full support and encouragement of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @CommerceGov Secretary @howardlutnick as we bring back the best chip manufacturing to America!”
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Gelsinger said major chip designers such as Nvidia and AMD still need to commit to making chips on American soil, calling those commitments part of Intel’s long-term strategy.
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“All of those need to go back to US innovation and Intel’s foundation,” Gelsinger said.
“I am certainly encouraged to see these important steps, but we still have a lot to do.”
Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger discusses the US-China race for AI chip dominance, the proposed Safe Chips Act and more on ‘Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.’
