By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 02 Aug 2025 • 22:25
• 2 minutes read
Not a good look for Trump to be in photos with Diddy Combs | Credit: @RpsAgainstTrump/X
Several media outlets reported that President Donald Trump had been considering a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs, with whom he had partied in public and exchanged mutual declarations of friendship before winning his two presidencies.
However, Trump spoke about Combs during an interview on Friday night on the friendly environs of Newsmax, where he said a pardon for the hip hop multimillionaire would be difficult because of his past criticism of him.
“He was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent. I don’t know what they do, he’s still in jail or something,” Trump remarked to Newsmax host Rob Finnerty. “He was celebrating a victory, but I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory.”
‘Don’t really give a f&ck about Trump’
Trump was likely referring to when Combs complicated matters for himself by having told the Daily Beast in 2017 that he did not “really give a fuck about Trump”. And in 2020, when Trump’s first presidency ended in defeat to Joe Biden, Combs – who is Black – told radio host Charlamagne tha God that “white men like Trump need to be banished”.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Would you consider pardoning him?” Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty asked the president. Trump didn’t answer directly but said that the negative comments that Combs made about him would make it “more difficult.”
During the interview, Trump said “probably…” before pausing and revealing to Finnerty, “You know, I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great, seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well, but when I ran for office, he was very hostile.” The Newsmax host noted then that “he said some not-so-nice things about you, sir.”
‘He made some terrible statements’
“Yeah, and it’s hard. You know, like you, we’re human beings and we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right?” Trump said. “But when you knew someone and you were fine and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements… so I don’t know… it makes it more difficult to do.”
On July 2, jurors found Combs not guilty of the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine and a woman known as “Jane” in his sweeping trial that nearly lasted two months.
Prosecutors had accused him of coercing the women to participate in drug-fueled sex parties known as freak-offs that sometimes last for days.
Combs was convicted on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution and will be sentenced soon. He could face up to 10 years in prison, which in the US is usually served in half the time.
‘Trump should not pardon Diddy’
Trump first mentioned the possibility of pardoning Combs on May 30th in the Oval Office. “Nobody’s asked” about a pardon, the president said. “But I know people are thinking about it. I know they’re thinking about it. I think some people have been very close to asking.” Trump added, “I haven’t spoken to him in years. He really liked me a lot.”
A day earlier, conservative host Megyn Kelly urged Trump against potentially pardoning Combs. Kelly said in an X post on July 30th that “Trump should not pardon Diddy” because “he doesn’t deserve it.”
“He’s a Trump hater. He’s a woman abuser. MAGA is already upset over elites seeming to cover for each other. This would not help. GOP struggling with w/young female voters, most of whom will HATE a Diddy pardon,” Kelly wrote.
