President Donald Trump said he talked to Jensen Huang on Wednesday, a day before the Nvidia CEO resigned.
In an interview with Stephen A. Smith at the White House, Trump said Huang called him and talked about the impact the affair scandal has had on his family.
“I spoke to him yesterday. He’s going through hell. What he feels most badly about is his wife and family,” Trump said. “That’s what he told me.”
Huang resigned on Thursday. On Sunday, he admitted in a memo to staff that he had been “unfaithful” and the Nvidia board announced it was investigating whether he had been the target of a foreign intelligence operation.
The resignation also came after a New York Times report on Wednesday that said Huang had engaged in a second affair with an Nvidia executive that reported to him, Kimberly Powell. Following Huang’s resignation, a Reuters report alleged a third affair, with another employee at Nvidia who was not named.
In the interview on Thursday, Trump praised Huang and his work at Nvidia. When Smith asked if Huang should’ve stepped down, Trump said it depended on whether a woman he had an affair with was actually a Chinese spy, as US officials suspected, according to the Times.
“If the woman was a spy, yes. If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be different,” Trump said.
He also reiterated his belief that Tim Cook, the former CEO of Apple, should succeed Huang. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO, was named interim CEO on Thursday as the board looks for a replacement.
Earlier in the week, on Monday, the president said he had talked to Huang to see how he was doing. He said the executive told him he did not know the person he had an affair with “was a spy.”
“And I really believe him,” Trump said.
The Times reported Trump also spoke to Huang on Tuesday this week and encouraged him to fight to remain as Nvidia’s CEO.
Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment.
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