Nvidia scandal rocks White House as report reveals Trump was ‘warned’ about CEO’s affair months ago

The White House is facing mounting scrutiny over its handling of the Nvidia scandal, with new reporting indicating President Donald Trump was “warned” about CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese spy months ago.Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Trump on the relationship aboard Air Force One in May, shortly before Huang joined the president’s trip to China, The New York Times reported. The account is at odds with Trump’s claim this week that he was unaware of Huang’s involvement with the woman at the time of the state visit.The controversy centers on Huang’s romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed whom U.S. officials reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset. After initially describing their dealings as strictly professional, the Nvidia chief acknowledged the romance Sunday, writing in a statement he’d been “unfaithful” to his wife and that he was “deeply sorry.” He added that the company — which saw its stock price plunge Monday — is launching an independent investigation.Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over why Megaspeed — an Nvidia customer — had not been subject to restrictions, according to Axios. Lutnick had also been sent a “classified memo” warning about the spy allegations.The White House is facing mounting scrutiny over its handling of the Nvidia scandal, with reports indicating that US officials had been aware of CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy (Getty Images)The revelations have led to questions about Nvidia’s influence in Washington and the administration’s handling of the artificial intelligence race with China. The tech giant, valued at about $4.2 trillion, designs advanced chips used to power AI systems.In recent days, Trump has publicly defended the CEO of Nvidia, who has regularly visited the White House. The president called him “honorable” and said he believes he did not know about the spy allegations. Beijing has said claims about Chinese spies are “entirely groundless” and “intended to smear and malign China.”The Independent has contacted the White House and Nvidia, headquartered in California, for comment.In the lead-up to Trump’s state visit to China, Rubio helped draft a memo about Huang, the Times reported.The CEO was not initially among the tech executives scheduled to accompany the president to Beijing. But Trump invited him at the last minute, and Huang joined the presidential entourage aboard Air Force One in Alaska.Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, “briefed the president on the issue” after learning that Huang would be traveling with Trump, an unnamed U.S. official told the outlet. Rubio said U.S. officials had obtained sensitive information indicating that Huang was in a relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.While en route to China in May, Marco Rubio reportedly told Donald Trump that US officials had obtained information indicating Jensen Huang was in a relationship with an alleged Chinese spy (AFP via Getty Images)The 80-year-old president was “not particularly moved by what he heard,” the Times reported.Upon landing in China, Huang — who was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. as a child — attended the state banquet in Beijing and participated in business discussions as a member of the U.S. delegation, alongside fellow executives Elon Musk and Tim Cook.Huang has said he wants Nvidia to be able to sell AI chips in China.At a press conference on Monday, Trump denied he had been aware of these spy allegations at the time of the China trip.“No, I didn’t hear about it then,” he told reporters. “But a lot of people have heard about it. And Jensen totally denies that…He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy.’ And I really believe him.”Alice Huang, formerly a TV reporter in China, became a director at Megaspeed in 2023, The Associated Press reported. It’s not clear when the apparent affair started and when it might have ended. Scott Bessent (right) reportedly confronted Howard Lutnick (right) last week, asking him why Megaspeed had not been subject to restrictions (Getty)Lutnick had also been warned about the spy allegations, having been sent the memo Rubio had helped draft, Axios reported. As commerce secretary, Lutnick manages the agency responsible for ensuring U.S. adversaries do not obtain sensitive American technology.The outlet also reported that, during a meeting in the Situation Room on Thursday, Bessent confronted Lutnick, asking him why Megaspeed was not added to the Entity List. The list, maintained by the Commerce Department, imposes restrictions on transactions involving organizations considered a national security concern.Lutnick reportedly responded that he would “look into it.”The secretary, sources said, had spent months “undoing” efforts by Trump administration officials to combat Megaspeed. The Singapore-based company has been accused of unlawfully sending American chips to China.At their summit in May, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping identified AI as an area of cooperation, but no major breakthroughs emerged (AFP via Getty Images)The developments come as AI plays an increasingly central role in the American economy, with companies racing to advance the technology and expand its use across industries.Most Americans believe it is important for the U.S. to lead the world in the development of AI, according to a July Pew Research Center survey. But more Americans than not believe that China is currently in the lead.At their summit in May, both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping identified AI as an area of cooperation, but no major breakthroughs emerged.Many Americans also have concerns about the new technology, with 63 percent of respondents in a September Politico poll saying there’s a risk AI will destroy humanity.AI bosses have said as much themselves, sounding the alarm in recent months over the potential for the developing technology to threaten the existence of the human race.