US President Donald Trump says a presidential pardon for embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is “more difficult” to consider due to the rapper’s history of hostile remarks, despite describing him as “sort of half-innocent.”
Speaking during an exclusive interview on Newsmax Friday night, Trump addressed speculation about a possible pardon for Combs, who was convicted last month on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution. The former Bad Boy Records boss faces up to 20 years behind bars, with sentencing set for October 3.
“He was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump said of the July 2 verdict. “He was celebrating a victory, but I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory.”
Although Combs was cleared of more serious charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking, Trump admitted that the rapper’s past public criticism weighs heavily on his decision-making.
“When I ran for office, he was very hostile,” Trumpnoted. “We’re human beings. And we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? 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.”
Combs had infamously said in a 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God that “white men like Trump need to be banished,” and previously told the Daily Beast he didn’t “give a f***” about the former president.
The pair had once enjoyed a public friendship, often seen at high-profile parties and celebrity events before Trump’s rise to political power.
Trump’s latest comments come amid broader criticism of his pattern of granting pardons to political allies and associates. His stance on Combs, however, appears complicated by personal history and race-related tensions.
At the time of the interview, Combs remained in federal custody in New York City. His lawyers have requested his release on a $50 million bond ahead of sentencing.
Trump was also asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein child sex trafficking case. The president, who was once friends with Epstein, said, “I’m allowed to give her a pardon. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
Epstein’s suicide in federal custody in 2019 sparked widespread outrage, and Trump’s Justice Department has faced backlash for failing to release further documents related to the investigation despite previous promises to do so.
For now, the possibility of a presidential lifeline for Diddy hangs in the balance.
