Trump Urged Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to Fight as Spy Scandal Deepened

A call before Huang’s exit

Trump spoke with Huang on Tuesday, before Huang left his role as Nvidia’s chief executive. Two people briefed on the call said the president encouraged him to keep fighting to retain his job.

The call extended Trump’s support for Huang, a prominent ally who had advised him on artificial intelligence. Trump continued backing him as the spy scandal gathered force.

Intelligence warnings and allegations

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Huang had an affair with a woman they believed was a Chinese spy. The woman, a Chinese citizen known as Alice Huang, was assessed to have been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security.

Trump had received warnings about the relationship at least twice, according to previous reporting by The New York Times. One came late last year and another in the spring, but Trump took no action on either occasion.

Nvidia announces leadership change

Nvidia said Thursday that Huang had been replaced as chief executive. He had built the company into the world’s leading supplier of advanced A.I. chips. The revelations surrounding his departure also included another affair, with one of his employees. Trump had taken Huang with him to China in May and publicly praised him in recent days.

No response to comment requests

A representative for Huang did not comment. Trump and the White House did not respond to requests for comment about the call. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump expressed sympathy for Huang and called him a “legend.”