Trump’s Bonkers Reaction to Tech Lord’s Chinese Spy Lover Is Leaked
Sources have directly contradicted the president’s claims.
Evan Vucci/REUTERS
Donald Trump greeted a man dating a suspected Chinese spy by welcoming him on board Air Force One.
Trump was on his way to Beijing, China, in May when Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang came aboard, despite sources claiming that Trump had already been informed that Huang was having an extramarital affair with an agent from Beijing.
On Monday, Trump said he hadn’t known about the allegations at the time, but sources have since told CNN and The New York Times that Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed the president before Huang joined the journey in Alaska, during a layover on the final leg.
Nvidia’s stock plummeted after Huang admitted he had been “unfaithful” to his wife and had had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman called Alice Huang. In a letter to company staff, he said that it “is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
U.S. intelligence had concluded that Alice Huang had been in contact with China’s Ministry of State Security. But when the press challenged Trump on it, he said, “No, I didn’t hear about it then.” He also claimed he heard about it “not too long ago.”
Jensen Huang with the woman Reuters identified as Alice Huang.
CTI/via REUTERS
Trump was en route to a summit with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping when the incident occurred.
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China has said that the allegations about Alice Huang are “groundless.”
Jensen Huang has since admitted to an extramarital affair.
CTI/via REUTERS
“Jaw-dropping,” a former senior Trump official told CNN when discussing the incident. “The stakes of that are just so high.”
Huang is the well-liked figurehead of the $4.5 trillion technology giant Nvidia, which he co-founded and has led for 30 years. The advanced chips he has helped to develop have become central to the U.S. and China’s heated technology war.
U.S. intelligence has concluded that Alice Huang is a spy.
CTI/via REUTERS
Nvidia has given the U.S. an edge in that fight, and Trump has embraced the company, along with several other tech leaders.
When Trump was asked if he was briefed on the matter last year, he said: “I’d certainly check with the intelligence people. They could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didn’t make much of an impact on me.”
Trump speaks to the press on Monday.
Aaron Schwartz/REUTERS
“I just know Jensen very well,” he added. “I just think he’s a very honorable man.”
He noted that the tech boss had told him he didn’t know Alice Huang was a spy.
“I really believe him,” Trump said. “I think that he’ll be in good shape.”
Huang has led the chip giant for three decades.
Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
Trump also said he didn’t plan to bring it up with Xi when he returns to China next week.
Trump said on Tuesday that “These sources have no idea what they’re talking about.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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