Trump says it’s “difficult” to pardon Diddy because rapper was “very hostile” towards him

US President Donald Trump has said it would be “difficult” to pardon Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as he was “very hostile” towards him.

The rapper and music mogul was found guilty on two counts of transportation for engaging in prostitution, but was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking in July. He pleaded not guilty to all five charges.

Combs is currently awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he has been held since his arrest in September last year. Last week (July 29), he asked a judge to release him on a $50million (£37.4million) bond as he waits to be sentenced in October.

In June, Trump said that he would look into a potential pardon for Combs, and that he would “certainly look at the facts”.

Now, though, he’s weighed in again, calling Combs “half-innocent” and saying it’s “more likely a no” that he would be pardoned.

“Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Friday (August 1). “[He’s] still in jail or something, but he was celebrating a victory. But I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory.”

Q: Sean Diddy Combs. Would you consider pardoning him? 

Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent. Probably— I was very friendly with him but when I ran for office he was very hostile and it’s hard. So, I don’t know, it’s more difficult.

Q: More likely a no?… pic.twitter.com/FrrzquR6qs

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 2, 2025

Trump went on to recall that he was “very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and [he] seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile. 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.”

It echoes comments he made in May, when he said about Combs: “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, that relationship busted up. I read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.”

Referring to a possible pardon, Trump added at the time: “I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody is mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”

The US President and rapper were once on good terms, with Trump attending a number of Combs’ VIP parties and events in New York City, and calling the rapper “a good friend” during a 2012 episode of The Apprentice, while Combs called Trump “a friend of mine” in 2015, shortly after Trump launched his first campaign.

But when asked about Trump in 2017, Combs told the Daily Beast, “I think that to be honest, we don’t really give a fuck about Trump, because [black people are] in the same fucked-up position. So that’s not what we’re on.”

Then, speaking to Charlamagne tha God in 2020, Combs said, “White men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous. This man literally threatened the lives of us and our families about going to vote … The number one priority is to get Trump out of office.”

Combs faces a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars on the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. However, he could receive less than this because it is a first-time conviction.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.