President Donald Trump addressed questions during a White House press briefing regarding his awareness of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. Huang recently admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, prompting Nvidia to launch an internal investigation.
Reports on Prior Intelligence Briefings
Recent reporting by The New York Times stated that Trump had been briefed approximately a year ago on intelligence regarding a close relationship between Huang and the suspected spy, Alice Huang. A subsequent report on Sunday noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped draft an intelligence memo for Trump administration officials prior to Trump’s visit to China in May. During the briefing, Trump did not specify the exact timeline of when he learned about the affair, though he mentioned he had been reading about it over a period of time and noted that the FBI is looking into the matter.
Trump’s Remarks on Jensen Huang
When asked about the timing of his first notification regarding the issue, Trump praised Huang as a high-quality person who leads one of the world’s most valuable companies, calling him an amazing guy who developed advanced chip technology. Trump stated that he hopes there is no problem, adding that he believes Huang is suffering greatly, particularly for his family and the wife he loves. Regarding his conversation with the CEO, Trump mentioned that he spoke with Huang today to check on him and asked directly about the situation.
Trump stated that Huang completely denied knowing the individual was a spy, quoting Huang as saying he had “no idea,” and added that he truly believes him. When questioned if he would raise the case with President Xi Jinping during an upcoming visit next week, Trump said he does not think he will initiate it, though he expects President Xi might ask about it. Trump reiterated that he considers Huang an honorable man who built a great American company and expressed confidence that Huang will be in good shape. When pressed further about whether he read the intelligence memo distributed by Secretary Rubio last year, Trump stated he would check with intelligence personnel, noting that while it could have been mentioned, it did not make much of an impact on him.
