Connect your Claude, Codex or OpenClaw for full transcripts on millions of podcasts. Two week free trial, cancel anytime.

Start free trial →
JC Jason Calacanis Jason Calacanis Angel investor, internet entrepreneur and podcaster focused on startups and venture capital.

“Benching him is what the Chinese want. The Chinese do not want him out there leading this company. That's why they targeted him. I think we have to think strategically, not vindictively. We have to think strategically for America. He's got to stay in that seat at all costs.”

This Week in Startups · Startups & Venture · November 2026

“Benching him is what the Chinese want. The Chinese do not want him out there leading this company. That's why they targeted him. I think we have to think strategically, not vindictively. We have to think strategically for America. He's got to stay in that seat at all costs.” — Jason Calacanis, This Week in Startups

Context

Near the end of the Nvidia segment, after discussing the Huang affair and the board probe, Calacanis argues the US should not remove Huang. His reasoning is that the likely intelligence goal was to destabilize Nvidia's leadership.

Transcript

This Week in Startups Around 18:11 into the episode
Jason Calacanis

…so, you know, I think end of the day, we got to send Sidney Sweeney and compromise the head of Alibaba. That's a joke from Fat Don Capital. Well, thank you, Shibayo, comedy writer, Fat Don Fortune. She loves America. She would do it. She's too high profile. They would know her. Yeah, that's true.

Lon Harris

What's the crazy situation? He's just very attracted to Chinese CEOs. You never know.

Jason Calacanis

CEOs. She could pull it up. But I mean, I don't have like a friendship with Jensen, but I casually know him. You know, we've done two, maybe three spots, maybe three interviews, I guess, over the last year and a half. So, man, I feel bad for his family. I feel bad for him. I feel bad for America. And I think we have to rally. I don't want to say rally behind him, but rally behind the industry to win. And then, you know, whatever price he has to pay, there's going to be many here. He's obviously not going to get out of this unscathed. But I can tell you, benching him is what the Chinese want. The Chinese do not want him out there leading this company. That's why they targeted him. I think we have to have, we have to think strategically, not vindictively. We have to think strategically for America. He's got to stay in that seat at all costs. We need to keep him in that seat. So that's just pragmatic. We need to win. We need Jensen and Nvidia to move forward. 100%. If we don't, no Jensen, no, no super intelligence. I feel like he must have just thought

Lon Harris

it was the leather jacket. Like, yeah, I'm obviously a powerful guy, but ladies just can't resist. the cool jacket. I'm sure that was what it was going for.

Jason Calacanis

You know, I'm just, I'm trying to stay above the fray here and keep bringing the jokes back in.

Lon Harris

I'll move on.

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.

More from This Week in Startups