Donald Trump praises 'brilliant' Jensen Huang as he weighs in on former Nvidia CEO's downfall

Detailed summary

Trump spoke to Stephen A Smith on Thursday and sounded off on his conversations with Huang since the scandal broke.

Published: 23:52 GMT, 12 November 2026 | Updated: 00:16 GMT, 13 November 2026

Donald Trump called now former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang 'brilliant' but admitted that he was right to step down if it is confirmed he had an affair with a Chinese spy.

Huang stepped down Friday as the company's CEO after co-founding it 33 years ago and leading it to become the US's most valuable company.

His resignation comes a day after the New York Times reported that Huang, 63, had an affair with a subordinate, Kimberly Powell.

Trump spoke to Stephen A Smith on Thursday in the Roosevelt Room at the White House and sounded off on his conversations with Huang since the scandal broke.

'It's sad. He’s a tremendous talent. He did something nobody else did. He has a chip that’s so complex, so brilliant, you can’t copy it. What he’s done is incredible, he built an incredible company,' he said.

Smith asked Trump point blank if Huang was right to step down, which led to a rare pause from Trump before answering.

'The big thing was, was the woman a spy? If the woman was a spy, yes, if the woman was not a spy perhaps it would be different,' Trump said.

Then Trump offered encouragement to Huang - whom he said is 'going through hell right now' for his future endeavors.

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