President Donald Trump has a message for anyone worried about Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang: he's a fan. Sort of. With a caveat.

Asked Saturday about a report that a suspected Chinese spy had targeted Huang, Trump offered a warm defense of the executive, then promptly added that his administration would take a closer look at the allegations. The comments came at a Halloween event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

What the Report Says

The New York Times reported Thursday that U.S. officials determined a Singapore-based executive with close ties to Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset. Surveillance reportedly documented a close relationship between her and the Nvidia CEO, and Trump was briefed on the findings about a year ago but decided against acting, according to the report.

Trump said he has "a lot of respect for Jensen" but "didn't know about the specific thing."

"He's a great, brilliant person, and we want to protect our brilliant people," Trump added. He said his administration would look at the allegations "very closely."

Nvidia Pushes Back

An Nvidia spokesperson told MarketDash that Megaspeed is "no different than many other regional cloud customers" and that the diversion allegations were "thoroughly investigated and debunked last year."

Huang's Seat at the Table

Huang sits on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which makes the whole situation a bit more delicate. Asked whether Huang would stay on, Trump said he would "like to say yes" unless "we find out something to the contrary."

"I've always found Jensen Huang to be very aboveboard. But, you know, you're dealing in a very complex issue," he added.

The political pressure isn't coming from just one direction. Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Huang and Nvidia's board to answer to Congress, months after inviting him to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Nvidia's China sales.

Market Reaction

Investors, for their part, did not love the headlines. Nvidia's shares closed 4.22% lower on Friday at $204.64 and rose 0.30% to $205.25 in extended trading.

MarketDash Edge rankings indicate Nvidia's stock has a Momentum score in the 65th percentile and a Growth score in the 98th percentile.