President Donald Trump said he spoke to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang earlier Monday after Nvidia revealed Sunday evening that it had opened an investigation into his extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
Trump had called Huang “to see if he was feeling okay,” the president said during an impromptu press briefing.
Huang told him “he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy,” Trump said.
“He said I had no idea she was a spy, and I really believe that,” Trump said.
The president also said the FBI was investigating the events in question.
On Sunday, Nvidia’s board of directors announced that it was “opening an independent investigation in light of recent reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
At the same time, Huang announced that he had been “unfaithful to my wife”, while apologizing to Nvidia employees.
“I was surprised because I consider him a very high-quality person,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s an amazing guy,” he continued, adding, “I hope there’s no problem.”
Trump indicated for the second time in as many days that he wanted Huang to remain at the helm of the world’s second-largest state-owned company. “I think he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said.
On Sunday, people familiar with the matter told NBC News that U.S. intelligence agencies had determined that Alice Huang, the woman Jensen Huang allegedly had an affair with, was a Chinese spy. Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related.
Spokespeople for Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday following Trump’s remarks. Nvidia previously said Huang would remain CEO, despite the revelations.
Nvidia shares closed 4.2% lower on Monday, bucking overall market momentum. The stock was the worst performing company on the Dow and Nasdaq.
News about Nvidia and Huang also sparked scrutiny from Congress.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, called Monday for “a comprehensive briefing” on the issues facing Nvidia. Jeffries will likely be elected the next Speaker of the House in January.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., also said in a joint statement that Congress should “take decisive action” on oversight of AI-related companies.
Nvidia and Huang’s revelations “make these national security concerns even more urgent and raise important questions for NVIDIA to answer,” Warren and Banks wrote.
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