Trump Posts AI Image of Intel Stock Surge, Says He Made 'Hundreds of Billions'

President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated picture of himself day-trading Intel (INTC) shares from $20 to $95, alongside a Truth Social message boasting about making “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” on equities.

This marks the second occasion Trump has used this exact image format. A nearly indistinguishable post last September depicted Intel rising from $20 to $30, after the government acquired a 9.9% holding in the semiconductor company.

Trump’s Intel Stock Pattern

This time around, the figures align closely with actual market performance. Intel Corporation (INTC) shares ended at $95.80 on September 4, then reached $95.89 two days later, almost quadrupling from their 52-week bottom of $24.05.

The repeated post also fits a broader tendency. A CNN probe reported Trump purchased shares in 21 firms shortly before issuing favorable comments about them on Truth Social.

Ethics disclosures filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) indicate portfolios linked to Trump built stakes in Intel and Dell Technologies (DELL) before he praised both publicly. Dell shares have since surged over 300% this year.

A comparable August post about SpaceX (SPCX) attracted similar attention, though later data indicated the stock’s increase had started in premarket activity before Trump posted, weakening a direct connection.

Presidential Stock Social Posting

Presidents are not prohibited from trading stocks while in office, unlike most other federal officials. Trump also has not placed his holdings in a blind trust, meaning he can observe what his managers purchase or sell. Ethics specialists argue that structure creates conflict-of-interest risks other officials do not encounter.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley joined Democrats last year on a measure to prohibit both congressional and presidential stock trading. Trump pushed back strongly, characterizing it as an assault from a junior senator rather than a sincere ethics reform.

A CNN review found the reverse pattern is uncommon, however. Most of Trump’s thousands of disclosed trades were never followed by a related Truth Social post. There were also no direct evidence ties the posts to his trading decisions.

The government’s 9.9% Intel stake, bought at $20.47 a share in August 2025, is now worth several times its original value on paper. Meanwhile, the pattern of presidential posts near stock gains keeps drawing scrutiny from ethics watchdogs.