Trump urged Nvidia's Huang to fight for his job days before the spy scandal took him down

President Trump called Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang on Tuesday, urging him to fight for his job, per two people briefed on the conversation; two days later, the company announced Huang was out 1

1

. The call came as the world's top supplier of advanced AI chips was losing the founder who built it over an affair with a woman US intelligence agencies concluded was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security, per the Times 1

1

. Neither Trump nor the White House commented on the call 1

1

.

Nvidia said Thursday that Huang resigned immediately as CEO, president and board member. The announcement followed revelations of the affair with Alice Huang and a second affair with one of his employees 4

4

. Chief financial officer Colette Kress takes over as interim CEO, and Harvey Jones becomes board chair, per the company's announcement 4

4

. The search for a permanent successor is under way 4

4

. Shares closed down 4.3% after plunging as much as 14% intraday 4

4

.

The warnings Trump set aside

Huang admitted the infidelity in a message to employees on November 8, before the resignation was announced 4

4

. He admitted the affairs; he did not admit espionage. Nvidia's board began an independent investigation into possible foreign intelligence targeting and said it had no reason to believe that company secrets or national security had been compromised 4

4

. That assessment is the company's own 4

4

.

The president had been here before. The Times reports he was warned about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang at least twice, first late last year and again in the spring, and took no action either time 1

1

. Before Huang joined a May trip to China, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Trump of the intelligence about her, per the Washington Post's timeline; Trump later said he did not know of the allegations during the trip 2

2

.

Why stay? Advisers said Trump saw the episode primarily as adultery rather than a national-security threat 5

5

. They said he considered Nvidia too important to the US economy to destabilize, and he asked confidants about potential market fallout when the board weighed replacing Huang 5

5

4

4

. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota had already called for Huang to go, citing the potential for extortion around chips this sensitive 4

4

.

A friendship with policy consequences

The closeness was public and it paid. The Times reports Nvidia controlled at least 80% of the market for chips that train the most advanced AI models, and by late 2024 Trump had taken notice 5

5

. After an April 2025 dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told Huang, "You're taking over the world, Jensen" 5

5

.

The alliance shaped China policy. Per the Times, Huang helped persuade Trump, over the objection of China hawks, to allow certain chip sales to China 5

5

. His argument was that wider sales would keep countries building their AI on American technology rather than Chinese 5

5

. The internal split ran between AI adviser David Sacks, who backed the wider sales, and China hawks including Stephen Bannon, who wanted a complete ban 5

5

. By the Times' account, the US government took 15% of Nvidia's revenue from permitted sales, later raised to 25% 5

5

.

The president stays loyal, and Congress starts asking

Trump's support outlasted the resignation. In a Thursday social media post he described Huang as a legend, and per CNN he phoned him several times that week to ask about his well-being 1

1

. He proposed former Apple CEO Tim Cook as the replacement on Truth Social, writing "A Legend replaces a Legend!" 4

4

. Asked by Stephen A. Smith whether Alice Huang was a spy, Trump said the question was undetermined: "Well, the big thing is, was the woman a spy? And I don't know if that's been determined yet" 3

3

. He added: "But I can tell you this: somehow, he'll end up on his feet" 3

3

. Per the Times, the intelligence agencies' conclusion is that she was 1

1

.

That gap between what the agencies concluded and what the president says he knew is where the oversight lands. Lawmakers in both parties have signaled they will examine the Trump-Huang relationship, though no committee has formally opened an investigation 2

2

. "The two illicit affairs we're interested in are the ones between Nvidia and Donald Trump and Donald Trump and China," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee next year 2

2

.