President Donald Trump picked up a last-minute passenger as Air Force One stopped for fuel en route to Beijing.
Trump is taking some of the best-known tech bros with him on his state visit to China, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
But one name was conspicuously absent as the group flew off on Tuesday: Jensen Huang of Nvidia, whose chips are powering the global AI revolution.
Asked about the apparent snub by CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Huang said, “We should let the president announce whatever he decides to announce... If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honor to represent the United States.”
Air Force One departed Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday and stopped to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, where, according to pool reports, the Taiwanese-born billionaire finally joined the group.
The Daily Wire’s Brecca Stoll later reported that Trump had called Huang earlier on Tuesday to issue a last-minute invite. Politico said the president invited Huang in response to reports about the snub. Hours later, Huang met Trump’s aircraft in Alaska.
When contacted for comment, a Nvidia spokesperson told the Daily Beast, “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals.”
Trump himself hit out at reports that Huang was not invited, posting a lengthy missive after Huang joined him in Alaska.
“CNBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China,” the 79-year-old wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday evening.
“In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!”
He went on to say that it was an honor to have so many CEOs join him in China, with Huang being the 17th CEO to join the delegation. Trump added that once in China, he will be asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to “‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!”
“In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump was set to arrive in Beijing late Wednesday local time ahead of two days of meetings with Xi. His visit to China is the first by a sitting U.S. president since his previous visit to China in November 2017.
The visit is set to include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven. In addition to members of his inner circle and CEOs, Trump is joined on the trip by a number of trade delegates, with trade generally and Trump’s tariffs specifically expected to be two major topics of discussion during the summit.
Huang’s attendance raises questions about whether the subject of chip exports could come up in negotiations. Nvidia has faced restrictions on the sale of its most advanced chips, used for training AI models, to China. The company announced in February that U.S.-government-approved versions of its chips had not yet been allowed into China.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he would have a “long talk” with Xi about Iran, but did not expect it to be the focus of their talks.
“I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control,” Trump said.
He also described the Chinese leader as a “friend,” and “somebody that we get along with,” telling reporters, “I think you’re going to see that good things are going to happen.”
