Trump says he called Jensen Huang before he resigned, and the ex-Nvidia CEO is ‘going through hell’ and feels terrible for his wife and family

President Donald Trump said Jensen Huang is “going through hell” and feels terrible about the toll his alleged affairs have taken on his wife and family. Trump made the comments in an interview with sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on Thursday, calling the situation “sad,” as reported by The Hill.

Trump said he called Huang on Wednesday, before his resignation as Nvidia’s chief executive became official. Asked whether Huang should have stepped down, Trump said it depends on whether a woman linked to Huang was a spy for China. “The big thing is, was the woman a spy? And I don’t know if that’s been determined yet,” Trump told Smith, adding, “If the woman was a spy, yes.”

Huang stepped down on Thursday after reports of multiple extramarital affairs, including an alleged affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy and alleged relationships with two Nvidia employees. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer, has taken over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor, and tech investor Harvey Jones has been named the company’s first-ever chair, per The Guardian.

The woman at the center of it runs a Singapore datacenter firm

The woman at the center of the national security concerns is Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman and head of the Singapore-based datacenter firm Megaspeed, whom U.S. intelligence services reportedly suspect of being a Chinese asset. U.S. officials reportedly began monitoring Megaspeed over suspicions that it was diverting powerful Nvidia AI chips to Chinese companies, potentially violating export restrictions. China has denied the accusations, calling them a “smear.”

Jensen Huang admitted to one extramarital affair in a letter to employees on Nov. 8, apologizing to his family. Three days later, The New York Times reported a second alleged affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, who reportedly reported directly to Huang, according to a timeline of the allegations. Reuters then reported a third alleged affair with another unnamed Nvidia employee, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Nvidia’s board had hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a “thorough and independent” investigation into the relationship with Alice Huang, and the firm initially directed Huang to keep leading the company. Pressure grew after the second and third reports, and the board met late on Wednesday before Huang resigned. Its statement paid tribute to Huang’s “profound” contributions without mentioning the spying allegations or his personal conduct.

Nvidia’s shares fell more than 13 percent over five days. On Thursday alone, the stock closed down 4.3 percent, wiping out more than $180 billion in value for the day and around $490 billion for the week. A California retail investor, Mark Kistenmacher, has also filed a lawsuit accusing Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors by not disclosing the affairs and the national security concerns they raised.

Members of both parties have called for Congress to investigate Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang and consider new restrictions on Chinese access to advanced chips. Three House Republican committee chairs had already requested a closed-door briefing with Huang before he resigned.

Democrats are also pushing to examine what Trump knew, given his close relationship with Huang. The New York Times previously reported that Trump was told multiple times that Huang was close to the suspected spy but still allowed Nvidia to sell its H200 chips to China. Trump has since said at a White House press conference that he did not remember being briefed.

Trump, who initially defended Huang, posted on Truth Social that Apple executive chair Tim Cook should take over, writing, “A Legend replaces a Legend!” Other names reportedly being considered include Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas and AMD CEO Lisa Su, while Kress and Ian Buck, who manages Nvidia’s AI hardware and software products, are possible internal candidates.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it for 33 years, growing it from a $1 billion firm when it went public in 1999 into a company valued at more than $4 trillion. He owns more than 870 million shares, about 3.6 percent of the company, and his net worth stood at $145 billion on Thursday morning.

Trump told Smith he remains optimistic about Huang’s future, saying, “I can tell you this, somehow he’ll end up on his feet.”