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It’s not every day that one of the president’s cabinet secretaries goes on national television to accuse one of his colleagues of a growing public scandal. Welcome to Donald Trump’s White House the day after the fall of Jensen Huang.
To refresh: Huang, longtime CEO of tech giant Nvidia, resigned yesterday after revelations that he had several extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy. Huang’s implosion is a problem for the administration because he is a top Trump ally whose indiscretions appear to have allowed Beijing to get its hands on Nvidia’s advanced semiconductor chips, strengthening the main U.S. rival in the race to build powerful artificial intelligence systems. Today, accusations within the administration about who is to blame are spilling out into the open. Let’s go.
I seem to remember you I’m already writing about this. What has changed?
Good memory. Besides Huang’s resignation, the most significant new development has been the administration’s increasingly frenzied rush to find a replacement. On Wednesday, Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week over the latter’s failure to stop Nvidia from selling to Megaspeed, the Singapore-based company that Huang’s lover allegedly used to ship chips to China. (Lutnick’s department is supposed to ensure that foreign companies that obtain Nvidia chips do not pose a threat to U.S. national security.) Bessent and other senior Trump officials believe Lutnick repeatedly obstructed their efforts to take down Megaspeed, including before the Huang scandal broke. It’s not entirely clear why Lutnick would do this, but it might have something to do with the millions of dollars worth of Nvidia stock that his sons’ company recently dumped. On Friday, Bessent made these tensions public. “The business,” he said when asked about the scandal on CNBC, “has the pen, and you’ll have to ask them about their internal processes.” Now, even some congressional Republicans are demanding that Lutnick testify about what went wrong, and the president is reportedly considering firing him.
Is there anything else I should know about Lutnick?
This is not the first time he has caused trouble for the administration. As The Atlantic reported last year, Lutnick publicly misrepresented trade deals, complicated negotiations with U.S. allies and clashed with other Trump aides. The Huang affair also fails to appreciate the extent of the Commerce Secretary’s apparent missteps regarding Nvidia chips. According to the New York Times, Lutnick’s department also authorized the sale of chips to other suspicious companies with ties to the Chinese government. Still, Lutnick’s long friendship with the president was enough to save him.
So far, I’m hearing not-so-good things about one of Trump’s deputies. But what about the president himself?
At the risk of paraphrasing another presidential scandal, a major outstanding question is what Trump knew and when he knew it. Trump, who counts Huang among his allies and reportedly urged him this week to move past the scandal, said he knew little about Chinese spying targeting the former CEO. But as the Times reported, senior U.S. officials first told Trump about it last year, after which he failed to stop Nvidia from selling chips to Megaspeed and did not appear to tell Huang that he had dated a spy.
So what should I think of all this??
Despite all attempts by his subordinates to shift blame, the reality is that the president is more responsible than anyone for this mess. It’s obviously not Trump’s fault that Huang decided to cheat on his wife, nor that he apparently did it with a foreign agent. But Trump has repeatedly asserted that the battle between the United States and China for AI supremacy is existential, even though his inattention appears to have allowed China to continue access to sensitive technology for months. And even if Lutnick had engaged in the delaying tactics Bessent alleged, a president in the know and in control of his administration should have been able to stop him — and certainly would have already punished him for endangering U.S. national security. As it stands, this president seems more interested in the I-beams going into his ballroom.
We end another big week of news on a day that many Americans consider unlucky. Luckily, my colleagues have compiled some great reads to help you get through Friday the 13th.th unscathed and start your weekend off to a better start.
Today’s traditions: Getting a Tattoo Became a Scary Friday the 13thth tradition. Shirin Ali spoke to a tattoo artist about how the industry took advantage of this unofficial holiday.
Superstitions of yesteryear: In 1907, a researcher asked students to record all the superstitions they knew and then compile their responses into a book. The result is a fascinating collection of late 19th century American folk beliefs.th and early 20th centuries. Be sure to be careful when carrying gardening tools and keep your eyes peeled for a white horse!
Scenes from Friday the 13th: In the slasher franchise, hockey mask-wearing serial killer Jason Voorhees just won’t stay dead. Instead, he keeps coming back to life after meeting his demise in all sorts of grisly ways. Slate rounded up all of Jason’s wacky resuscitations, which include a crush, an encounter with a meddling psychic girl, and much more.
Your favorite lucky charms: People transform all kinds of objects into talismans. There are the classic four-leaf clovers and horseshoes, but also things like a special pair of underwear or a favorite baseball card. Mark Menjivar’s book The lucky archives explores everyday objects that people consider lucky.
On that superstitious note, it’s time for me to take my leave. Enjoy the weekend and see you here Monday!
Gn bussni
