"He is going through hell": Trump says Jensen Huang is distressed

US President Donald Trump said former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was “going through hell” and was most distressed about the impact of the controversy on his wife and family. Trump said Huang had called him and spoken about the hurt he had caused them.

“I spoke to him yesterday. He’s going through hell. What he feels most badly about is his wife and family,” Trump told commentator Stephen A Smith on Thursday.

Trump said he had long thought of Huang as “a fine man” and expected him to recover from the fallout. “Somehow, he’ll end up on his feet,” he said.

Trump questions whether alleged intelligence links were established

Asked whether Huang should have stepped down, Trump said his answer depended on whether Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman reported to have had a relationship with the former Nvidia chief, had worked for Chinese intelligence.

“Well, the big thing is, was the woman a spy? And I don’t know if that’s been determined yet,” Trump said. He said a confirmed intelligence link would have justified Huang’s departure and that his view might be different otherwise.

Trump’s wording was more cautious than it had been on Monday, when he referred to Alice Huang as a spy while recounting a conversation with Jensen Huang. Trump said then that Jensen Huang had told him he was unaware of any such connection and that he believed him.

Jensen Huang acknowledged having an extramarital relationship. Reports identified Alice Huang as one of the women involved. The two are unrelated. China’s foreign ministry dismissed the espionage allegations as “groundless speculation”. Separate reports alleged that Jensen Huang had a relationship with Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell, raising questions about potential workplace conflicts of interest.

Trump floats Tim Cook as Nvidia’s next CEO

Trump reiterated his suggestion that former Apple chief executive Tim Cook could succeed Huang. “I think Tim Cook would be a great candidate to run Nvidia,” he told Smith. In an earlier interview with Salem News Channel, Trump had called Huang’s departure a “horrible thing”.

Huang stepped down after 33 years at the helm of Nvidia, which he co-founded in 1993 and built into a leading supplier of artificial intelligence chips. Nvidia’s board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while it considers a permanent successor.

With inputs from ANI