Trump said Monday that he has cut a deal with chipmaker Nvidia, allowing it to sell certain artificial intelligence chips to China in exchange for a cut of the revenue, which would go to the U.S. government. Trump said he also negotiated a similar deal with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

One dismayed Democratic lawmaker said the move signals to China “that American national security principles are negotiable for the right fee."

The arrangement crafted by the Trump administration is “unusual,” analysts told CNBC, but underscores the president's transactional nature.