Trump defends Pete Hegseth at surprise news briefing with Dana White

In his first post-midterm news briefing, President Donald Trump on Monday talked about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy, the effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the massive Republican losses at the ballot box last week.

Trump was joined at the impromptu briefing by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, to whom Trump jokingly offered the White House press secretary job to last week. The president said he thought he would have “a little fun” by bringing White out to take questions from reporters.

The president, who ended up fielding most of the questions, downplayed Rep. Thomas Massie’s push to impeach Hegseth.

“He is a sick, sick guy,” Trump said of the Kentucky Republican who reintroduced articles of impeachment Monday that largely focus on the Iran war.

“I will say this: The soldiers, the actual soldiers, the great people that do the work, the great patriots, they love Pete Hegseth,” Trump said while saying the secretary “won the war in Venezuela” and “won the war in Iran,” where peace talks have stalled and sporadic U.S. strikes are ongoing.

“He’s done a very good job,” Trump said, adding that he would stand by Hegseth if he’s impeached by the House.

A simple majority is required in the still GOP-led House for the articles to be approved and sent to the Senate for a trial. Only two Cabinet members in history have successfully been impeached; neither was convicted.

Trump on Monday also defended Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, while revealing that he is under investigation by the FBI.

People familiar with the matter told NBC News on Sunday that U.S. intelligence agencies had determined that Alice Huang, the woman with whom Jensen Huang allegedly had the affair, was a Chinese spy. The two are not related.

Trump said that he had spoken to Huang on Monday “just to see if he’s feeling alright.”

“He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him,” Trump said, adding that Huang is a “very honorable man.”

Huang said in a statement Sunday that he had been “unfaithful to my wife.”

Nvidia’s board of directors announced Sunday it was “initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” China denied involvement, calling it a “smear.”

Trump also expanded on a Truth Social post from earlier in the day that questioned the midterm election results, despite his saying last week that he was willing to accept them.

“I think the numbers were terrible in terms of those early votes,” Trump said when asked by reporters if he thought the results had been rigged. He then repeated his claim of foul play in the tight Alaska Senate race, which hasn’t been called.

Trump concluded Monday’s briefing, where he spoke for a little more than 30 minutes, by jokingly offering Dana White the press secretary role one more time.

“Thank you for the offer, sir,” White said. “I do not want to be in politics.”

“I am devastated to hear this,” Trump responded before they both left the briefing room.

The White House has been without a press secretary since late August, save for the five days Katie Zacharia served in the role last month.