Trump urged Huang to fight for Nvidia job, NYT reports

President Donald Trump called Jensen Huang on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and urged the Nvidia ↘ 4.34% chief to keep fighting for his job, two days before Huang resigned over a fast-growing espionage scandal. The New York Times ↘ 1.71% reported the call, citing two people briefed on the conversation.nytimes.com

The Times said the call fit a pattern of Trump backing Huang, a close ally and adviser on artificial intelligence. That support continued even after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Huang was having an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China. Neither Trump, the White House, nor a spokesperson for Huang commented on the call, according to the Times. Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 0.39% also carried the report.reuters.com+1

Repeated warnings

The Times reported that Trump had been warned at least twice about Huang's ties to Alice Huang, a Chinese national who intelligence agencies concluded had been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The first warning came late last year and the second in the spring. Trump took no action and brought Huang on his trip to China in May, the paper said. Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang and also goes by Huang Le, was an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a data center company that promotes its partnership with Nvidia, according to CBS News.cbsnews.com+1

When asked over the weekend whether he wished he had acted sooner on the intelligence, Trump said "I don't think so" and called Huang an "honorable guy," the Associated Press reported. On Monday, Nov. 9, Trump said the FBI was investigating the matter, per CNN.apnews.com+1

Resignation and fallout

Nvidia announced Thursday that Huang had resigned, effective immediately, and named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO, the AP reported. His exit followed a board inquiry into the alleged affair with the suspected spy and a separate relationship with an executive who reported to him, according to the Times. The board also named Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair, Al Jazeera reported.aljazeera.com+2

Trump kept praising Huang after he stepped down. "NOW THAT Nvidia CEO JENSEN HUANG, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple," he wrote on Truth Social, as quoted by the AP. He suggested the former Apple ↘ 0.21% chief executive as Huang's successor. According to the Times, Trump also called Huang a "legend" in a post on Thursday.apnews.com+1

Huang has agreed to appear before Congress, U.S. lawmakers said, according to the BBC. Questions remain over how much the White House knew and when.bbc.com