Trump Had Urged Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to Fight for His Job

Developing story first seen 2 hours ago

New York Times · 2 hours ago

New reporting says Trump called Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Tuesday and urged him to fight for his job, shortly before Huang was replaced as the company’s chief executive. The call adds detail to Trump’s continued support for Huang as a spy scandal intensified, raising questions about how the president weighed national security concerns against Nvidia’s importance to the economy and his AI ambitions.

US intelligence agencies assessed that Huang had an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen they believed had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security; the article also reports a separate affair with an employee. Trump had reportedly been warned about the relationship at least twice, took no action and brought Huang on a trip to China in May. Advisers said Trump feared Huang’s removal could unsettle markets, and viewed Nvidia as vital to US economic strength and AI competition with China.

Sources: 2
Outlets: 2
Left · Centre · Right: 1 · 0 · 1

In short

Trump urged Huang to fight for his job shortly before his replacement.
US intelligence agencies assessed Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.
Advisers said Trump worried Huang’s departure could affect markets and AI ambitions.

How this story developed

10 minutes ago Donald Trump urged Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to fight for his job in a call on Tuesday, shortly before the company announced his replacement.
14 minutes ago New reporting says Trump called Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Tuesday and urged him to fight for his job, shortly before Huang was replaced as the company’s chief executive.

Full account

President Donald Trump telephoned Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang on Tuesday and urged him to keep fighting for his position, according to two people briefed on the call. The conversation came as the company’s board was weighing Huang’s future amid reports of a relationship with a woman whom US intelligence agencies suspected of spying for China. Nvidia announced on Thursday that Huang had been replaced.

The reports describe two separate allegations that put pressure on Huang. The first concerned a relationship with a Chinese citizen identified as Alice Huang, whom US intelligence agencies reportedly assessed had been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. The New York Times account says Trump had received warnings about the relationship late last year and again in the spring, but took no action and later brought Huang on a trip to China. Trump’s call, as reported by the Times, was a further sign of his support while the affair was becoming public.

A second report focuses on an alleged relationship between Huang and an Nvidia employee, Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice-president of healthcare. The Daily Mail says a bystander filmed the pair together at a San Jose hotel and that Nvidia executives already knew of the relationship. It reports that the board was considering Huang’s removal before the video emerged, and says a further alleged relationship with another employee was reported after his departure. These claims add workplace-conduct concerns to the national-security scrutiny around the first relationship.

Trump’s reported backing reflected his view of Huang and Nvidia as important to US technology ambitions and the economy. The Times says aides described Trump as dismissive of the national-security risk and concerned about market consequences if Huang left. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, foregrounds the board’s dilemma and the potential financial and corporate fallout of removing a founder whose leadership had been closely tied to Nvidia’s rise. The accounts agree that Huang had a close relationship with Trump, but differ in emphasis: one examines the president’s response to intelligence warnings, while the other centres on the alleged workplace relationships and the board’s decision.

Where outlets differ

From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:

The New York Times report centres on Trump’s Tuesday call, his prior intelligence briefings and his reasons for continuing to support Huang. The Daily Mail focuses on the board’s deliberations, the alleged relationship with an employee and the possible business consequences of Huang’s departure.

The Times describes a further alleged relationship with an employee as part of the revelations surrounding Huang’s exit. The Daily Mail specifies Powell as the employee in one allegation and reports a separate, unnamed employee relationship after Huang’s departure. The supplied excerpts do not establish all the timing or details independently.