President Donald Trump backed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Sunday after Huang said he had been unfaithful to his wife with a woman that U.S. intelligence reportedly suspects of being a Chinese spy.
“I think he’s an honorable guy,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “I think he probably has an excuse for that. You need to hear it.”
Trump said this in response to a question about whether he wished he had acted sooner based on U.S. intelligence on the matter.
Trump said he had not spoken to Huang about the issue, but added that Huang had done an “incredible job” for the United States and should remain CEO of Nvidia.
In a memo to Nvidia employees on Sunday, Huang said he had been unfaithful to his wife and that his actions had hurt his family. He added that Nvidia’s board was opening an investigation into whether it had been targeted by a foreign intelligence agency.
Late last month, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Huang was the target of a Chinese espionage plot. The outlet reported that Alice Huang, a Chinese business executive and Nvidia chip buyer who is not related to Nvidia’s CEO, had developed a close relationship with him and passed information to Beijing. She had been recruited to research information and potentially push for more advanced Nvidia chips to be available in China, the Times reported.
Huang previously said he had a “normal” business relationship with the woman.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised, but said its investigation would review available information. He added that Huang was cooperating with the investigation.
Huang has become an increasingly influential voice in the debate in Washington over China’s chip export restrictions. He said strict limits on U.S. chip sales could backfire by accelerating the growth of Chinese competitors.
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