Washington, DC [US], November 12 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has jumped on the bandwagon in the ongoing controversy surrounding former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after the latest revelations of his extramarital affair(s), calling for him to be replaced by another "legend", Apple Executive Chairman and former CEO Tim Cook.
This comes as CEO Jensen Huang has opted to resign from his designation amid mounting pressure after it was revealed that he had an affair with Alice Huang (not his relation) a Chinese businesswoman who it is claimed is an alleged Chinese Intel asset and another reported affair with a senior executive of Nvidia, Kimberly Powell.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump lauded the former Nvidia CEO for his "fantastic job," while characterising Cook as the only appropriate man to replace Huang, calling both the innovators "legends."
"NOW THAT Nvidia CEO JENSEN HUANG, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place - TIM COOK of Apple. A Legend replaces a Legend!" he remarked.
Earlier in the day, Elon Musk said it would be an "honor" to hire Nvidia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang, responding to a social media post urging him to bring the chipmaker's co-founder on board, amid reports that Nvidia's board is considering Huang's position at the company.
Musk remarked on X in response to a suggestion that he hire Huang. Responding to the same, Musk said, "That would be an honour."
The controversy follows reports about Huang's alleged relationships with two women, including Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US intelligence agencies of having links to Chinese intelligence services
A separate report by The New York Times alleged that Huang had a relationship with Nvidia Vice President of Healthcare Kimberly Powell, who reports to him. The report cited five people who had worked at the company.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO as Nvidia looks for a permanent successor, the company said on Thursday.
Jensen Huang had acknowledged his affair with Alice Huang in a letter to Nvidia employees, where he apologised for being unfaithful to his wife and violating her trust.
Nvidia's board had also initiated an investigation into the matter, with the inquiry being led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
The allegations have also raised questions about the company's workplace policies, which ask employees to avoid personal relationships that could create conflicts of interest.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led the company through its emergence as a major supplier of artificial intelligence chips. His possible departure has raised concerns about leadership continuity, with analysts cited in the earlier reports pointing to the absence of an obvious successor.
On Wednesday (local time), Congressman Jamie Raskin said the Congress' main concern is whether Huang's alleged affair with a woman said to be a Chinese intel asset had compromised US National security.
Republican US Senator Kevin Cramer from the Senate Banking Committee asserted that the executive's leadership at the helm of the leading artificial intelligence semiconductor enterprise constitutes a national security vulnerability.
“The potential for extortion is so tremendous that something as sensitive as Nvidia chips, I just think he’s got to go,” Cramer told Politico late Tuesday.
“If the worst thing he did in real life is infidelity with this woman who may or may not be a Chinese spy, but she might be, that’s enough, because whatever else there is, we don’t know. And to me, that’s a security risk.”
On the other hand, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer launched a sharp attack on President Trump, demanding immediate accountability over what he termed a gross "failure to protect national security".
Schumer alleged that Trump had been briefed more than a year ago about the Nvidia CEO's purported relationship with an alleged Chinese spy but had taken no action. Demanding immediate accountability from the White House, Schumer wrote on X, "We need answers immediately on Trump’s failure to protect our national security."
Concurrently, a confidential warning has been issued at the highest levels of the US government. According to a CNN report, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received a highly classified memo warning him about Jensen Huang's association with Alice Huang.
Building on these disclosures, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed President Donald Trump on intelligence indicating that the Nvidia chief executive was involved with an operative suspected of gathering intelligence for Beijing while both officials travelled aboard Air Force One towards China in May, as revealed to CNN by a source familiar with the matter.
President Trump publicly stated on Monday that he was unaware of the allegations during that period. During an impromptu White House press conference, he maintained that he had first learnt of the situation "not too long ago" and noted that federal investigators were reviewing the circumstances.
Defending Huang as an "amazing guy" and a "very high-quality person", Trump expressed personal sympathy, noting that Huang and his family were "suffering greatly" from the fallout.
Notably, it has emerged that in May 2026 a Wall Street 'Short seller' Culper research had flagged Huang's alleged links to Alice Huang (the woman now claimed to be a Chinese Intel asset).
According to CBS News, on May 13 this year Culper Research published a 40-page report highlighting Huang's ties to Alice Huang, a former television reporter and financial industry executive.
According to the report, a copy of which is with ANI, Culper research said, "Nvidia has repeatedly vouched for Megaspeed – its single largest Southeast Asian chip buyer currently under investigation by both U.S. Commerce and Singapore authorities."
"Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has not only vouched for Megaspeed, but seems to have quite literally walked alongside Megaspeed at every step, while maintaining an uncomfortably close relationship with Megaspeed’s Alice Huang, a Chinese national. He was first spotted partying with Alice Huang in June 2024 – the same month the Apex/Alibaba pledge was filed. He then dined with Alice Huang in Taiwan in May 2025 – just weeks after the news of U.S. trade restrictions. Finally, per one current Megaspeed employee, Jensen visits Megaspeed-linked data centers “every few months” and “every single time” he visits, he is accompanied by representatives from Alibaba. The Megaspeed employee characterised their relationship with Jensen as “very close”, corroborating another former Nvidia employee’s suggestion to us that many Nvidia employees wondered if there was a special relationship," the report stated.
Although Jensen Huang had got the backing of US President Donald Trump he was under extreme pressure with members of the US Congress flagging potential security risk of the affair with the alleged Chinese spy.Jensen Huang's exit puts the $4 trillion Nvidia in troubled waters and could potentially disrupt the AI industry which has been facing headwinds on the markets recently.
Nvidia shares fell more than 8 per cent in after-hours trading to USD 159.51, following reports about the board's consideration of Huang's future, according to CBS News.
The decline extended a fall that has erased more than USD 450 billion from the company's market value since it announced an investigation into Huang's conduct on November 8, the report said. (ANI)
Trump hops on 'Huang-gate' bandwagon, hails former Nvidia CEO for doing "fantastic job" amid 'Chinese-spy scandal'
