President Donald Trump says Jensen Huang is going "through hell" in the wake of the former Nvidia CEO's extramarital affair with a businesswoman suspected of being a Chinese spy. But the president is confident his ally will bounce back.
"I spoke to him yesterday," Trump told sports journalist and ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith in a sit-down interview published Nov. 12. "He's going through hell. What he feels most badly about is his wife and family. That's what he told me."
"He called me as the president. I'm president, and he called me and he said, 'What I've done to my wife and family is...' That's what he talked about."
Days before stepping down as CEO of the chipmaker on Nov. 12, Huang acknowledged that he had an extramarital affair with
a Singaporean tech executive, Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence officials suspect of spying for China. Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related. Nvidia has opened an investigation into the matter.
"To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust," he had said.
Later, on Nov. 11, The New York Times reported that Huang also had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, adding another twist to the scandal.
Nvidia is the world’s largest manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips, and its stock price has tanked since The New York Times broke the news on Oct. 29. The company's future is murky, and so is Jensen's marriage with Lori Huang, to whom he has been married for more than 40 years.
Should Huang have resigned? Trump responds
When questioned about whether Huang should have stepped down from his position, Trump said the "big thing" is if the woman is a spy.
"I don't know if that's been determined yet, but if the woman was a spy, yes," Trump said. "If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be different."
Saying that he always thought of Huang as a "fine man," Trump said he is confident the tech executive will "end up on his feet."
"I know him pretty well," Trump said. "He's a tremendous talent. He did something that nobody else (did)."
Accusing China of copying and pirating products, Trump said Huang's invention is "a chip that's so complex, so brilliant that you can't copy it."
"It's beyond copying because of their level of genius," the president said. "What he's done is incredible. Nvidia is unbelievable."
Trump stands by Tim Cook suggestion
Before his departure from Nvidia, Huang was in frequent contact with Trump.
He flew to Beijing on Air Force One in May and was part of Trump's AI summit in September. He attended a state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House the week before, on Sept. 24. Huang told USA TODAY in an interview last year that he tried to sit down with Trump and brief him every time he visited Washington.
After Huang announced his resignation, Trump had proposed that Tim Cook, executive chairman of Apple, should be tapped as the new president and CEO of Nvidia.
"I had an idea this morning that I sort of just released," Trump said of his Truth Social post. "He's done one of the greatest jobs in the history of business."
Remarking that Apple would "never be what it is today" had founder Steve Jobs been alive, Trump praised Cook for taking "a lot of these brilliant ideas and designs and everything else from Jobs and others" and making Apple "into one of the great companies of the world."
"I think Tim Cook would be a great candidate to run Nvidia," Trump said.
Contributing: Melina Khan / USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says Jensen Huang is going 'through hell' amid scandal
