President Donald Trump defended Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang after a report that a suspected Chinese spy targeted the executive, though he said the administration will take a closer look at the allegations.
Administration Reviewing the Report
The New York Times reported on Thursday that U.S. officials determined a Singapore-based executive with close ties to Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset.
Asked about it on Saturday at a Halloween event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said he has “a lot of respect for Jensen” but “didn’t know about the specific thing.”
“He’s a great, brilliant person, and we want to protect our brilliant people,” Trump added.
He said that his administration would look at the allegations “very closely.”
Report Says Trump Was Briefed Last Year
Surveillance reportedly documented a close relationship between her and the Nvidia CEO and Trump was briefed on the findings about a year ago but decided against acting, according to the report.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Benzinga that Megaspeed is “no different than many other regional cloud customers” and that the diversion allegations were “thoroughly investigated and debunked last year.”
Huang’s Advisory Role
Huang sits on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Asked whether he would stay on, Trump said he would “like to say yes” unless “we find out something to the contrary.”
“I’ve always found Jensen Huang to be very aboveboard. But, you know, you’re dealing in a very complex issue,” he added.
Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Huang and Nvidia’s board to answer to Congress, months after inviting him to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Nvidia’s China sales.
Price Action: Nvidia’s shares closed 4.22% lower on Friday at $204.64 and rose 0.30% to $205.25 in extended trading.
Benzinga Edge rankings indicate Nvidia’s stock has a Momentum score in the 65th percentile and a Growth score in the 98th percentile.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Andrew Leyden on Shutterstock.com
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