WASHINGTON â Jensen Huang was casually dressed in his signature black leather jacket and carrying a backpack as he prepared for the eight-hour flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to Beijing, China.
It was a clear, beautiful day with no sign of trouble. However, a political storm was brewing.
The Nvidia CEO was boarding Air Force One, at the personal invitation of President Trump, to join a state visit to the country where he was trying to expand his chip market.
And a few months after the trip, it would be revealed that Huang, one of the richest men in the world, was having an affair with a Chinese honeypot believed to be conducting corporate espionage on behalf of Xi Jinping’s government.
The Post has the behind-the-scenes photos of Huang boarding the fateful flight. It was May 12, 2026, and the CEO was waiting on the tarmac in Anchorage, where Air Force One stopped to refuel midway between its flight from Joint Base Andrews to Beijing.
He arrived on his private jet with a bodyguard and a personal aide. Walt Nauta, Trumpâs longtime body man, greeted him on the tarmac and led him to the presidential plane to board.
On the walk over, Huang paused to talk with Eric Trump and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, both of whom were traveling with the president. The three men exchanged small talk as Air Force One was gassed up, before walking aboard the main staircase.
Five months later, Huang admitted to an affair with Alice Huang â no relation â who is suspected of spying for China. There were reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the president that Alice was likely a Chinese spy.
Trump claimed he had no knowledge of the matter even when he invited Huang to join him.
âNo, I didnât hear about it then,â he told reporters Monday when asked if he knew before the summit with Xi. But he would check with intelligence agencies, he added.
âIâd certainly check with the intelligence people,â he said. âThey could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didnât make much of an impact on me.â
However, Rubio, who was on the trip and heard the president had invited Huang to travel with him, warned Trump that the Nvidia CEO was in a relationship with a woman believed to be a spy, the New York Times reported.
The White House denied the report.
âRefer to the Presidentâs comments yesterday. These sources have no idea what theyâre talking about,â an official said.
Trump has defended Huang, saying he asked the CEO about the situation and Huang told him he had no idea Alice was a spy.
âHe said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy. I asked him that question. Did you have any idea that she was a spy? He said I had no idea that she was a spy, and I really believe him,â Trump said Monday.
Alice Huang was an executive at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company facing claims it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips into China.
During that May trip, Huang attended a meeting with Xi along with other CEOs, including SpaceXâs Elon Musk, who also traveled on Air Force One.
And he attended the formal state dinner. Huang stayed in Beijing after Trump left and was spotted visiting food carts on the streets.
Trump returns to China next week, a trip that will likely be overshadowed by the Huang affair.
He said this time Huang would not be going with him.
The post Behind the scene as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang boarded Air Force One — just months before Chinese spy scandal exploded appeared first on New York Post.
