The close relationship between President Donald Trump and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has faced fresh scrutiny following disclosures concerning the billionaire executive's affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing.
Trump admitted on Monday he was "amazed" by the revelations surrounding one of his closest Silicon Valley allies, who now faces an FBI probe alongside a board meeting to decide his future.
Over the past two years, Huang backed the Trump administration's AI agenda and met the Republican leader frequently as Nvidia sought to sell advanced chips to the Chinese market and lobbied against tighter restrictions on Chinese access to Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips.
Although Democratic and Republican lawmakers called to halt exports of advanced AI chips to China, Huang and the White House argued that continuing US sales would keep Chinese clients dependent on American technology.
Here is a timeline of publicly known interactions and meetings between the Nvidia CEO and Trump since the Republican leader returned to the White House in January 2025:
JANUARY 2025
Trump met the Nvidia chief during his first month back in the White House, characterising the meeting as a good exchange.
The meeting on 31 January came as the company suffered a rough week on Wall Street over competition with China and the threat of tariffs on semiconductors. Trump said he would be putting tariffs on imports of computer chips to the United States, which will punish Nvidia's business that depends on imported components, mainly from Taiwan.
JULY 2025
The Nvidia CEO met Trump at the White House before visiting China.
Later in the month, Trump gave a shout out to Huang while signing executive orders at an AI summit.
"Jensen, will you stand up? What a job, what a job you've done," Trump remarked. "He's a great guy too."
AUGUST 2025
Huang met Trump at the White House as the administration and Nvidia discussed allowing advanced AI chip sales to China.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Huang joined Trump during a state visit to Britain.
NOVEMBER 2025
The Nvidia CEO attended a US-Saudi Arabia investment forum in Washington during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's first visit to the US capital since 2018. Huang discussed the future of AI at the event.
DECEMBER 2025
Trump praised Huang when the Nvidia CEO visited Washington to meet the Republican leader, who said the executive understood his position on export controls.
Huang was in Washington to meet lawmakers, telling them state-by-state regulations would slow AI progress.
JANUARY 2026
The Trump administration began permitting selected exports of Nvidia's powerful H200 AI chips to China case-by-case, without lifting restrictions on entities on Washington's trade restriction list.
MARCH 2026
In late March, the White House named Huang to a 13-member council officially called the "President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology" to advise on AI policy and other issues.
MAY 2026
Huang joined tech CEOs accompanying Trump on a visit to China to meet Xi, as the Republican leader sought to urge Beijing to "open up" to US business.
Trump added Huang to his trip at the last minute, with the Nvidia CEO seen boarding Air Force One during an Alaska refuelling stop en route to Beijing.
SEPTEMBER 2026
Amid scrutiny over advanced AI risks, Trump stated on September 29 that Huang was among tech CEOs who signed a voluntary safety pact and backed data centre expansion.
Huang met Trump at the White House that day alongside other executives. Trump, who had argued the US does not need new AI rules, called the pact "morally binding," drawing criticism over a lack of enforcement.
The previous week, Huang attended a state dinner for Xi Jinping at the White House when the Chinese president met Trump.
In mid-September, Huang addressed AI safety at a summit in Los Angeles. He took a call from Trump on speakerphone, during which Trump called AI safety fears a "hoax."
OCTOBER 2026
In early October, Trump presented the National Medal of Science, the United States' highest honour for scientists and engineers, to Huang and other tech leaders.
That day, the president disclosed buying up to $1.6 million and selling up to $1 million in Nvidia stock during summer 2026.
The Washington Post reported in mid-October that Nvidia committed $25 million for Trump's planned White House ballroom.
NOVEMBER 2026
Trump said he spoke to the Nvidia boss after the affair between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang—an unrelated former executive of Megaspeed, investigated by US authorities as a Chinese intelligence asset—became public.
Trump stated on November 9 that the Nvidia CEO insisted he had no idea she was a spy, and that he believed him.
"I asked him that question 'Did you have any idea that she was a spy?' He said 'I had no idea that she was a spy' and I really believe him," Trump told a White House briefing.
"I know the FBI is looking into it," Trump said. "I think that he'll be in good shape."
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