US President Donald Trump has weighed in on who should run NVIDIA next, saying there is “only one man” to replace Jensen Huang: Tim Cook. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump praised Huang for having “done a fantastic job” and then put forward the former Apple chief executive, writing “A Legend replaces a Legend!”

The post came hours after NVIDIA announced that Huang had resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately. CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor.

What Trump Said

Trump’s post, published at 10:29 a.m. on November 12, opened with the news of Huang’s exit and then pivoted straight to Cook. He described Cook as “of Apple” and signed off as President Donald J. Trump. He did not say whether he had spoken to Cook, to NVIDIA’s board, or to anyone else about the idea. No response to the post from Cook, Apple or NVIDIA had been reported at the time of writing.

Cook Is No Longer Apple’s CEO

Trump’s pick is a notable one because Cook is not currently running a company. In April, Apple announced that Cook would step down as CEO after nearly 15 years, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus taking over on September 1. Cook moved into the role of executive chairman, which Apple has described as focused on policy and long-term strategy.

Under Cook, Apple’s market capitalisation grew from around $350 billion to roughly $4 trillion. He took over from Steve Jobs in 2011, after joining Apple in 1998 and running its operations.

A Long Relationship With Trump

Cook has been one of the tech executives closest to Trump across both his terms, and the two have a long and sometimes awkward history. Trump famously called him “Tim Apple,” a nickname he still uses. The president has also been willing to publicly pressure him, including when he said he had a “little problem” with Cook over Apple’s push to build iPhones in India, a shift that has since moved a growing share of US-bound iPhone assembly to India.

When Cook’s departure was announced in April, Trump also posted a long message about him, calling him a “big fan” and saying Cook had had an “incredible” career, though the post drew attention for its crude language about their early dealings.

Trump And Huang

Trump’s praise for Huang follows a period in which he had stood by the NVIDIA chief. Days earlier, he said that Huang had told him he had no idea Alice Huang was a spy, and that he believed him. Elon Musk had also backed Huang as “irreplaceable” for American AI leadership.

Huang’s exit followed reports that the board was preparing to oust him after the reported relationships with Alice Huang and with NVIDIA executive Kimberly Powell. NVIDIA’s announcement did not give a reason for his resignation.

The Board Decides

Trump has no formal say in who runs NVIDIA. The decision rests with the board, now chaired by Harvey C. Jones, which has said it will consider both internal and external candidates. Reports ahead of the announcement said the board had been working with an outside firm to identify replacements, and speculation has largely centred on insiders such as Kress, Ian Buck and Bill Dally, with outsiders like AMD’s Lisa Su and Arm’s Rene Haas also mentioned. Cook has not been named in any of that reporting.

There is also no sign that Cook is interested. He remains executive chairman of Apple, and nothing so far suggests he plans to leave that role.

For now, NVIDIA says its operations, customer commitments and product roadmap will continue without interruption. The company reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on November 17, with Kress fronting the call as interim CEO.