Stock buys before the rule was dropped

An analysis by DeKleptocracy found Trump bought Nvidia stock worth millions of dollars as he made decisions on America's China policy that would benefit the chipmaker, based on his public financial disclosures.

The timing is central to the findings:

• •In May 2025, Trump's administration rescinded a Biden-era rule designed to prevent the most advanced US-made AI chips from being exported to China.
• •Before rescinding the rule, Trump bought between $1m and $5m worth of Nvidia stock, per his public financial disclosures.
• •He also bought shares in other tech companies, including Apple, Meta and Microsoft.

Why the rule mattered to Nvidia

The rescinded rule, known as the diffusion rule, aimed to strengthen the US chip industry and protect against China developing superior AI, which was widely regarded as a national security threat. It would have limited Nvidia's sales to China, which accounted for about a quarter of the company's sales between 2010 and 2022. Nvidia's shares rose in value shortly after Trump announced the rescission.

The H200 decision and further purchases

Trump said in December 2025 that Nvidia would be permitted to export its H200 chips to China, and the Department of Commerce signed off on that in January 2026. According to experts, the H200 outperformed anything China could then obtain at home by roughly six times.

The Council on Foreign Relations argued the exports would hand China's future AI factories a "supercharge" and boost a rival of the United States.

His disclosures record at least three further Nvidia share purchases in the days after that announcement, each worth between $250,001 and $500,000. Across his time in office, the chipmaker's shares appear in dozens of transactions he has made.

Related claims and ties

DeKleptocracy warned that America must grapple with how Trump's corruption may have motivated him to deliver the AI industry's technology to China.

Separate revelations reported that Jensen Huang, Nvidia's former chief executive, had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy, Alice Huang. Reports suggested Huang's company, Megaspeed, obtained billions of dollars worth of Nvidia's chips while other companies struggled. US intelligence officials, per the reports, twice reached the conclusion that Alice Huang was a Chinese asset and briefed Trump, who did not act on it.

Jensen Huang has been described as a close Trump ally and has met the president a number of times. In October 2025, Nvidia made a $25m contribution to Trump's ballroom, with Huang saying he was "delighted to be a part of it".