Cramer Asks Trump to Hold Intel as the Stock Runs 311%
Jim Cramer used Tuesday's Squawk on the Street to ask President Trump to keep Washington's Intel stake, after a weekend of posts about paper gains and a 311% one-year run.
On CNBC's Squawk on the Street Tuesday morning, Jim Cramer publicly asked President Trump not to sell the US government's Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) stake after Trump spent the weekend posting about Washington's paper gains, with the shares up 311% over a year and trading 7.51% higher at 102.99 as of 14:46:45 GMT on Sept. 8, 2026.
Jim Cramer spent part of Tuesday morning on CNBC's Squawk on the Street making an unusual request of a sitting president: don't sell. The stock in question is Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), in which the US government holds a stake, and which the source lead describes as up 311% over the past year. Cramer's own charitable trust owns the same shares, a conflict he disclosed in making the case.
The exchange followed a weekend in which, as co-anchor Carl Quintanilla noted on air, President Trump was tweeting about his gains — specifically the paper gains on Washington's position. Paper gains are exactly that: unrealized. They exist on a statement and vanish or grow with the next tick. Turning them into cash requires selling, and selling a large government position in a single semiconductor company is not a routine portfolio decision.
What the tape did while the argument was happening
Intel was one of the strongest large-cap moves of the session. As of the last trade at 14:46:45 GMT on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, the shares changed hands at 102.99, up 7.51% from the prior close of 95.80 — a gain of 7.19 points on the day, by our arithmetic on those two quotes. The intraday range ran from 99.65 to 103.54, meaning the stock spent the morning near the top of its band rather than fading after the open.
That happened against a soft broader market. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) was at $766.93, down 0.42% from a prior close of $770.19. The Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ) was at $718.10, off 0.12%. The Dow tracker (DIA) was the weakest of the three at $527.71, down 1.19%. So Intel was not riding a rising tide; it was moving on something specific to itself, with an index backdrop that was mildly to firmly negative.
That divergence is the part investors should sit with. A 7.51% single-day move in a company of Intel's size, on a down day for the Dow, is the market repricing something — and the most conspicuous new information in the public domain over the weekend was the president talking about the value of the government's holding.
Why a government seller is different from any other seller
Ordinary large holders — index funds, pensions, sovereign funds — sell for portfolio reasons and telegraph very little. A government stake is different in three ways, and each one matters to the price.
- It is visible. Public commentary about the position, including social-media posts about its value, is itself market-moving information. There is no quiet exit.
- It carries policy meaning. A stake taken in a domestic chipmaker reads as industrial policy. Unwinding it reads as a change in that policy, whether or not one is intended.
- It has no obvious replacement buyer at scale. Any sizeable disposal has to be absorbed by the market, and the market knows the seller's identity in advance.
That last point is the crux of Cramer's plea as reported by 24/7 Wall St. A holder who has quadrupled money on paper has every commercial reason to take profit. But the anticipation of that sale — the overhang — can weigh on a stock for months before a single share trades. Investors who own the same security, Cramer's trust among them, have a direct interest in the overhang not forming.
The terms of the stake are the missing number
Here is what the public record in front of us does not settle: the precise size of Washington's Intel holding, the price at which it was acquired, any lock-up or standstill conditions attached, and whether the government could sell in the open market or would have to place stock with institutions. Those terms determine everything about the impact of a disposal — how much stock hits the tape, over what period, and at what discount.
Those terms determine everything about the impact of a disposal — how much stock hits the tape, over what period, and at what discount.
Without them, the honest framing is directional rather than precise. A stake big enough for a president to post about is big enough that a rapid unwind would be felt in the share price. Equally, a staged sale with disclosed limits could be absorbed with far less drama. Anyone sizing a position in Intel on the strength of this week's move is, whether they realize it or not, taking a view on documents they have not read.
How the 311% run changes the risk, not just the reward
A stock that has more than quadrupled in a year has, by definition, already priced in a great deal of good news. Intel's rally has coincided with a period in which semiconductor demand tied to artificial-intelligence buildouts has dominated equity leadership, and in which government support for domestic chip manufacturing has been an explicit policy goal. Both of those tailwinds are, to some degree, in the current quote of 102.99.
The asymmetry that creates is worth stating plainly. After a move of that size, the marginal buyer needs either continued operational improvement or continued policy support to be rewarded. A government profit-taking headline would attack the second leg directly, and it would do so at a valuation set by a year of relentless upside rather than by depressed expectations. Cramer's request is, read cynically, a holder protecting a gain. Read charitably, it is a recognition that the same stake that helped the stock rerate is now the single largest identifiable source of supply hanging over it.
What to watch from here
Three things will resolve the question faster than any commentary. First, any formal disclosure of the government's holding and its terms — size, cost basis, restrictions. Second, whether the president's posts move from valuation talk to intent. Third, how Intel trades on days when the chip complex is flat or lower: if it keeps outperforming a soft Nasdaq 100, as it did Tuesday, the market is treating the stake as support. If it starts lagging on good sector days, the market has begun pricing an exit.
For now the scoreboard is simple. The position is deep in the money on paper, the loudest holder-adjacent voice on financial television has asked for patience, and the stock is at 102.99 with a 103.54 intraday high behind it. Nothing has been sold. That, in this story, is the fact doing all the work.
Key facts
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC): 102.99, +7.51% as of 14:46:45 GMT, Sept. 8, 2026
- One-year gain: 311%, per the reported figure
- Intraday range: 99.65 to 103.54; prior close 95.80
- Market backdrop: SPY $766.93 (-0.42%), QQQ $718.10 (-0.12%), DIA $527.71 (-1.19%)
Frequently asked questions
What did Jim Cramer actually ask President Trump to do?
On CNBC's Squawk on the Street on Tuesday morning, Sept. 8, 2026, Cramer publicly asked the president to hold the US government's stake in Intel rather than sell it. Cramer disclosed that his own charitable trust owns Intel shares, so he has a direct interest in the position not being unwound.
How much has Intel stock risen?
The reported figure is a 311% gain over the past year. On the day of Cramer's comments, Intel traded at 102.99 as of the last trade at 14:46:45 GMT, up 7.51% from the prior close of 95.80, with an intraday range of 99.65 to 103.54.
Why would a government sale hurt the share price?
A large, publicly identified holder creates what traders call an overhang: the market anticipates future supply and discounts the stock before any shares change hands. Because a government stake is visible and carries policy signalling, even talk of selling can move the price, independent of the company's operating results.
How big is the US government's Intel stake?
The size, cost basis and any lock-up or standstill terms attached to the holding are not established by the material behind this story. Those details matter a great deal, because they determine how much stock could reach the market, over what period, and whether a sale would need to be placed with institutions.
Did the wider market rise with Intel that day?
No. Intel outperformed a soft tape. The S&P 500 tracker SPY was at $766.93, down 0.42%; the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ was at $718.10, down 0.12%; and the Dow tracker DIA was at $527.71, down 1.19%. Intel's 7.51% gain was company-specific, not an index effect.
What are paper gains, and why does the distinction matter here?
Paper gains are unrealized profits — they appear on a statement but only become cash if the position is sold. The president's weekend posts concerned paper gains on Washington's Intel stake. Realizing them requires selling, which is precisely the action Cramer argued against on air.
Sources
Photo: Alex Domínguez · Pexels Licence — source
