Trump Says He Called Jensen Huang and Believes He Didn’t Know She Was a Spy Omor Ibne Ehsan Tue, November 10, 2026 at 7:21 AM EST 5 min read NVDA -1.02% Trade NVIDIA on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
Trump says Jensen Huang told him he had no idea the person was a spy, and Trump added, "I really believe him."
Republican committee chairs want Huang in a closed-door briefing on November 18, and Trump's praise cannot stop them from opening formal probes.
NVIDIA's third-quarter guidance already excludes China Data Center sales, so near-term exposure is small, but future export licenses depend on Washington's trust.
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On the afternoon of November 9, 2026, President Trump told reporters at a surprise White House briefing that he phoned NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang to check in. In Trump's telling, Huang said he had absolutely no idea the person in question was a spy, and Trump added, "I really believe him."
All of what is known about the call comes from Trump. Neither Huang nor NVIDIA has described it publicly. NVIDIA hadn't immediately commented, although it had said earlier that Huang would stay on as CEO.
The shares closed at $178.67 on November 9, down 4.27%, for a $4.31 trillion market value. They traded at $180.50, up 1.02%, at 7:59 p.m. ET. The remarks were reported after the close, and the exact time is unknown, so neither move can be tied to them.
The stock has fallen 11.58% over one week and 22.07% over one month. Trump backs Huang, while Republicans in Congress are asking for answers.
Trump's support was entirely verbal. He called Huang a very honest man who built a great American company and said he hopes there is no problem. He announced no policy, review, or action, and the White House referred follow-up questions back to his comments.
Trump also said the FBI is looking into it, but in connection with something else, and that Huang will be in good shape. He gave no detail, and the FBI declined to comment.
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That uncertainty is a risk because shareholders have no way to size a federal inquiry when its subject, scope and timeline are all unknown.
The Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and China committees have asked Huang to a closed-door briefing on November 18. Presidential praise does not bind those committee chairs, and they can open formal probes no matter what the White House says.
U.S. authorities reportedly concluded that Alice Huang (no relation), a former Megaspeed executive, was a Chinese intelligence asset, though that claim remains an allegation and China calls it unsubstantiated.
Trump said he did not know of the allegations when Huang traveled with him to China in May. He was reportedly briefed on the relationship about a year ago.
NVIDIA guided to third-quarter revenue of $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, and that outlook already excludes any Data Center compute revenue from China. Near-term sales exposure is small. Future export licenses, however, depend on how much Washington trusts the company.
Trump said he did not think he would raise the matter with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19. Xi might, though. That puts earnings on November 17, the briefing and APEC within three days of each other.
The board's independent investigation will decide whether Huang stays, and Trump has no formal role. The board said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
The business underlying is still growing fast. Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2027 was $96.221 billion, up 105.85% from a year earlier.
My view is that the political risk looks largely priced in near $178.67. At about 36 times trailing earnings, the price shows political noise even though the company's latest guidance points to another record quarter.
Trump's backing has no legal effect. Still, it makes it less likely that the White House will turn against NVIDIA on export policy.
This view is wrong if the November 18 briefing leads to a formal committee investigation, or if third-quarter revenue on November 17 comes in below the bottom of the guided range. Either outcome would turn a governance problem into a business problem.
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