Trump urged Huang to retain his position as NVIDIA CEO
What's the story
US President Donald Trump personally called NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on Tuesday, urging him to fight for his position, The New York Times reported. The call came just days before Huang's exit from the tech giant amid a fast-unfolding espionage scandal. Despite US intelligence agencies concluding that Huang was having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, Trump continued to support him publicly.
Controversy
Huang's exit as CEO
NVIDIA announced Huang's exit as CEO on Thursday. The announcement came amid allegations of an affair with a woman named Alice Huang and another relationship with an employee.
Trump was warned about the potential national security implications of Huang's relationship with Alice at least twice last year and this spring. However, he took no action against him.
Market impact
Trump's worries about market impact
Trump was particularly worried about the market impact of Huang's ouster.
When reports surfaced that NVIDIA's board was considering replacing him, he asked confidants about the likely impact on financial markets and feared it could trigger a major downturn.
His advisers offered several reasons for his support, including Trump's growing personal investment in Huang and his belief that the NVIDIA chief was like industrialist Henry Ford in shaping a defining technology of this century.
Strategic alliance
Huang's relationship with Trump
Huang's relationship with Trump developed relatively recently. He had little presence in Washington and didn't lobby or donate to political campaigns.
However, after Biden administration's export restrictions on chips, Huang sought closer ties with Washington.
By late 2024, Trump recognized Huang's importance to the tech industry as NVIDIA controlled at least 80% of the market for chips used to train advanced AI models.
Policy impact
Semiconductor exports to China
Huang also influenced Trump's stance on semiconductor exports to China.
He advocated for wider sales of NVIDIA chips so countries could build their AI infrastructure with American technology instead of Chinese.
The position was backed by David Sacks, Trump's AI and cryptocurrency adviser, who helped convince the president to allow certain chip models to be sold to China despite opposition from China hawks within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.