President Trump has exercised the authority of his office to pardon several celebrities lately, including reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley and rapper NBA YoungBoy. On Friday, he was asked whether he would consider pardoning Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who is currently on trial in New York on several criminal counts.
In 2012, when Trump was hosting “The Apprentice” on NBC, Trump once said he was a “good friend” of Combs, according to Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked the president at a White House press conference whether would consider granting a pardon for Diddy.
“Nobody’s asked… [but] I know people are thinking about it,” Trump responded, saying he hasn’t been following the Combs trial coverage closely. “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him in years. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics he sort of — that relationship busted up.”
Regarding issuing a pardon for Diddy, Trump said, “It’s not a popularity contest… I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”
Combs is currently standing trial in a Manhattan federal court on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison. According to prosecutors, Combs turned down a plea deal in the case.
Trump’s remarks came during a press conference Friday in the Oval Office to praise tech mogul Elon Musk, who is stepping away from the administration after heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Earlier this week, Musk criticized Trump’s “massive spending bill” in an interview with CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” saying the legislation “undermines the work” of DOGE.
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