US President Donald Trump called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Tuesday and urged him to fight to retain his position, days before the chipmaker announced his exit amid a fast-unfolding espionage scandal, according to a report by The New York Times.
The call marked Trump's latest attempt to defend Huang, who had emerged as a prominent ally and influential adviser on artificial intelligence (AI), even after US intelligence agencies concluded that the Nvidia chief was having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, the NYT report said, citing two people familiar with the conversation.
Nvidia announced on Thursday that Huang, who built the company into the world's leading supplier of advanced AI chips, had been replaced as chief executive. The developments surrounding his exit included revelations of an alleged affair with the woman, identified as Alice Huang, as well as another relationship with an employee.
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A representative for Huang did not comment on the NYT report. Trump and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment on the reported conversation.
The report said Trump had been warned at least twice about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen whom US intelligence agencies concluded had been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The first warning came late last year, followed by another in the spring.
Despite the warnings, Trump took no action and included Huang in his May visit to China. He continued to publicly support the Nvidia chief in recent days, describing him as a "legend" in a social media post on Thursday, according to the NYT.
Trump saw Nvidia as too big to fail
According to NYT report, Trump's advisers said the president appeared largely unconcerned about the national security implications of the intelligence assessments. One aide said Trump viewed the episode primarily through the lens of adultery and dismissed concerns that Huang's alleged involvement could pose a threat to the US.
The president also considered Nvidia too important to the American economy to risk destabilising, the report said. The company is among the world's largest by market capitalisation and has become central to the global AI industry, as well as Trump's ambition to maintain America's technological lead over China.
Also Read: Nvidia faced pressure to boost its AI backstop before Jensen Huang's exit
Trump was particularly concerned about the potential market fallout from Huang's removal. When reports emerged that Nvidia's board was considering replacing him, the president asked confidants about the likely impact on financial markets and feared the move could trigger a sharp downturn, according to people familiar with his thinking cited by the NYT.
The report said Trump's advisers offered several explanations for his support, including the president's growing personal investment in Huang and his belief that the Nvidia chief was comparable to industrialist Henry Ford in his ability to shape a defining technology of the century.
How Huang built a relationship with Trump
The relationship between the two men developed relatively recently. During Trump's first term, Huang had little presence in Washington, did not actively lobby or contribute to political campaigns and showed limited interest in politics.
However, restrictions on chip exports imposed by the Biden administration pushed the Nvidia chief to engage more closely with Washington, although he remained less politically active than several other technology executives. He also skipped Trump's second inauguration.
By late 2024, Trump had begun recognising Huang's importance to the technology industry, as Nvidia controlled at least 80% of the market for chips used to train the most advanced AI models, the NYT reported.
Huang, meanwhile, saw an opportunity to build ties with Trump, who valued personal attention and responded to praise, according to people familiar with their interactions.
In April 2025, Huang and his wife, Lori, attended a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence alongside technology and cryptocurrency donors. The meeting reportedly left Trump impressed, particularly after he was told how central Nvidia had become to the AI boom.
Trump later told Huang: "You're taking over the world, Jensen," according to the report.
The Nvidia chief also aligned his pitch with Trump's broader economic ambitions. The president saw AI as an opportunity to revive American manufacturing and deliver the industrial resurgence he had promised voters but struggled to achieve during his first term.
Trump came to believe that the construction of data centres and their enormous electricity requirements could spur manufacturing activity and support economic growth, the NYT reported, citing people close to the president.
Huang reinforced that vision by saying in 2025 that Nvidia would produce up to $500 billion worth of AI infrastructure in the US. He also publicly praised Trump, saying in July that America's unique advantage, which no other country could possibly have, was the president.
The Nvidia chief travelled with Trump to the Persian Gulf in May 2025, where the US president announced deals for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to purchase Nvidia chips.
Huang's influence over Trump's China chip policy
Huang also played a significant role in shaping Trump's approach to semiconductor exports to China. He argued that Nvidia should be allowed to sell its chips more widely so that countries would build their AI infrastructure using American technology rather than Chinese alternatives.
The position received support from David Sacks, Trump's AI and cryptocurrency adviser. Together, they helped persuade the president to allow Nvidia to sell certain chip models to China, despite opposition from China hawks within the MAGA movement, including Stephen K Bannon, who wanted a complete ban on chip sales to Beijing.
Under the arrangement, the US government received 15% of Nvidia's revenue from the permitted chip sales, a share that was subsequently increased to 25%. The arrangement drew criticism, with opponents questioning its legality and warning that national security concerns were being compromised, according to the NYT.
Some US officials had raised concerns about Huang's dealings with China even before the espionage allegations surfaced. They viewed his close relationships with Chinese executives and local officials as potentially careless, with some questioning how he could have been unaware of Alice Huang's suspected links to Chinese intelligence.
However, Trump did not share those concerns, the report said. Despite his tough rhetoric on China, his approach has largely focused on trade negotiations rather than a broader confrontation with Beijing.
The NYT report noted that Trump has repeatedly favoured reaching agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping over engaging in prolonged trade disputes. He has also largely avoided confronting Beijing over human rights issues.
In 2020, when asked why he had not imposed sanctions over the mass detention of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region, Trump said: "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal."
People close to the president have also said he privately questioned why the US would ever go to war over Taiwan, the report added.
The NYT report said Trump has used a teaspoon during conversations with guests at his golf club to illustrate his disregard for the island, holding it up and saying: "This is Taiwan."
