Donald Trump bought up to $5 million of Nvidia stock before his administration revoked a Biden-era rule limiting Nvidia's ability to sell advanced AI chips to China, according to a Guardian analysis. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he favored for months blacklisting Megaspeed, a China-linked data firm, to stop Nvidia exporting advanced chips to Beijing, and he blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department for the delay.
The rollback of export limits benefited Nvidia, and the stock purchase raises conflict-of-interest questions. Delays in the Megaspeed blacklisting have also fueled public blame between the Treasury and Commerce departments.
Hundreds of people did gather at the Hakimpur checkpost in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, as the new BJP government began its “detect, delete and deport” crackdown on undocumented migrants. BSF data later showed 150 people were checked there in one day.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had favored blacklisting China-linked data firm Megaspeed “for months” to stop Nvidia exporting advanced chips to Beijing, and he blamed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department for the delay.
A Guardian analysis found Donald Trump bought up to $5 million of Nvidia stock before his administration revoked a Biden-era rule that limited Nvidia's ability to sell advanced AI chips to China.
The Guardian reports that families are clearing David Walliams books from their homes, and some independent bookshops had already stopped stocking his titles after sexual offence allegations.
London's Metropolitan police have opened a criminal investigation into David Walliams over alleged serious sexual offences, according to The Guardian; Walliams has denied the allegations.
BThe Guardian is out with a look at the President's stock portfolio, and it lands right in the middle of a fight inside his own cabinet.
BBecause nothing says 'drain the swamp' like buying Nvidia stock right before you help Nvidia.
BThe analysis says Trump bought up to five million dollars of Nvidia before his administration rolled back a Biden-era rule that limited chip sales to China.
BSo the rule that was holding back Nvidia's China revenue disappears, and suddenly the stock looks a lot better.
BThe White House hasn't commented yet. But the timing is the story.
BAnd here's the part I can't get over: his own Treasury Secretary is now publicly blaming the Commerce Department for being too slow on China.
BScott Bessent says he wanted to blacklist a China-linked data firm called Megaspeed for months, to stop Nvidia chips from reaching Beijing.
BMonths! And he says Howard Lutnick's team sat on it.
BSo you've got the President personally invested in a company, and his own people fighting over whether that company is selling too much to China.
BForget the optics. This is exactly the kind of conflict that makes voters think the whole system is rigged.
BBut hold on. Trump's been a public figure for decades. His businesses, his brand, his stock moves... he's never hidden his money.
BThat's not the point! The point is he's making policy decisions that directly affect a company he owns a chunk of. That's the textbook definition of a conflict.
BBut is it any different from a senator who owns defense stocks voting on a defense bill? Or a governor with business interests when he cuts regulations?
BThere's a difference between broad sector exposure and buying stock in one company right before you help that one company.
BCome on, Brian. You don't think he had advisors telling him this would look bad?
BI think he doesn't care how it looks. And maybe he's right that his base doesn't either. But it normalizes the swamp.
BYou call it the swamp. I call it a guy who's been playing the markets his whole life and doesn't see the problem.
BThen we have to agree to disagree, because I think the conflict is glaring.
BHere's the kicker, though. Even if you think the stock buy was wrong, the policy itself — allowing more chip sales to China — was probably the right call.
BI'm not so sure. China is a strategic rival. We just spent years trying to keep the most advanced chips out of their military.
BBut Nvidia's not selling weapons. These are commercial AI chips. If we don't sell, someone else will.
BThat's a race to the bottom. The point of the export controls was to slow China's AI progress. Period.
BAnd the point of American business is to sell. You can't have it both ways — punishing China and propping up our own tech sector at the same time.
BWe've had export controls since the Cold War. This isn't new. The question is whether your personal stock gains should shape that policy.
BMoving to a completely different kind of fight: in West Bengal...
BHundreds of people gathered near a border checkpost as the new state government starts cracking down on undocumented migrants.
BThe Hindu reports the crowd was at Hakimpur in North 24 Parganas. The BJP government says it's a 'detect, delete and deport' operation.
BBorder Security Force data later showed 150 people were checked there in a single day.
BThat's a huge number for one small post. And it tells you how many people are moving across that border.
BThis is the kind of policy that plays to the base but creates real humanitarian chaos on the ground.
BOr it's finally enforcing a border that's been ignored for too long. Which is it?
BI'd say you can enforce a border without rounding up people at random checkposts and causing panic.
BAnd I'd say when you announce 'deport,' people who are here illegally tend to panic. That might be the point.
BThere's a difference between panic and fear. This looks like fear.
BOne more immigration story, and it's a strange one: a Democratic plan that sounds almost... Republican.
BA post going around lists border security, visa reform, asylum reform, mandatory work verification, and criminal deportation enforcement.
BIt's sarcasm, but there's a point underneath it. Democrats are moving right on immigration because their voters are worried.
BOr because they lost the last election and they're trying to win back the middle.
BEither way, it's a sign of how far the Overton window has shifted. That list could have come from a Republican in 2015.
BLet's stay on the topic of people making claims on X. There's a post about Stephen Miller's 'vision' for immigration.
BIt lists mass deportations, ending birthright citizenship for many, stripping citizenship from naturalized Americans, and restricting asylum.
BWe can't verify the '3,000 arrests a day' number or that he's chief of staff. But Miller has pushed hardline immigration policies for years.
BHe's the architect of the hardline approach. The question is whether the White House will actually deliver that scale of deportation.
BLogistics alone would be a nightmare. You can't arrest that many people a day without massive federal resources.
BAnd the backlash would be enormous. But for Miller and his allies, that's a feature, not a bug.
BLet's move to a totally different headline from The Guardian: families are clearing David Walliams books from their homes.
BThe children's author and comedian is facing sexual offence allegations, and now police have opened a criminal investigation.
BThe Guardian says some independent bookshops had already stopped stocking his titles. Walliams denies the allegations.
BThis is the pattern we've seen before, but it's still jarring when it's someone whose books are on every school shelf.
BAnd for parents, it's an instant gut reaction: get the books out of the house. You don't wait for a conviction.
BIt's a terrible situation all around. If he's innocent, the damage is done. If he's guilty, the damage is far worse.
BAnd that's where we'll leave it for now. Next up: the fight between the Treasury and Commerce chiefs, and whether the President's portfolio should matter.