Donald Trump has said he views Sean “Diddy” Combs as “sort of half-innocent” despite the music mogul’s recent federal conviction, but suggested granting him a pardon would be complicated due to past criticism.
Speaking during a Friday night interview on Newsmax, Trump addressed Combs’ July 2 conviction on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution, each carrying a potential 10-year prison sentence. Combs was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
“He was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump told host Rob Finnerty. “He was celebrating a victory, but I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory.”
Reports have indicated Trump is considering a pardon for Combs, with whom he once publicly socialized and exchanged friendly remarks before his presidential campaigns. Trump has a history of pardoning convicted allies, often seen as a challenge to a justice system that convicted him of falsifying business records months before his 2024 election win.
However, Combs may have complicated his chances by past criticism of Trump. In 2017, he told The Daily Beast he didn’t “really give a fuck about Trump,” and in 2020, after Trump lost to Joe Biden, Combs—who is Black—said on radio that “white men like Trump need to be banished,” calling Trump’s removal from office a top priority.
Trump seemed to reference these remarks when asked about a potential pardon. “When I ran for office, he was very hostile,” he said. “It’s hard, you know? 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, convicted of arranging travel for sexual encounters involving sex workers and girlfriends, is tentatively scheduled for sentencing on October 3. He has requested release on a $50 million bond while awaiting the hearing.
At the time of Trump’s interview, Combs was being held at New York City’s sole federal detention center. Another facility in the city closed after financier Jeffrey Epstein—a convicted sex offender and former Trump associate—died there in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Trump’s Justice Department faced criticism for not releasing more Epstein case documents despite earlier promises. Amid ongoing scrutiny, Trump has been asked about possibly pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking minors.
“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump has said regarding Maxwell, who was recently transferred from a Florida prison to a lower-security facility.A high-security facility in Texas. “But right now, it wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss it.”
