‘Half-innocent:’ Trump weighs in on Diddy pardon. What other celebrities did he pardon?
- President Trump spoke about the possibility of pardoning Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
- Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and acquitted on more serious charges.
- Trump cited Combs' past negative comments about him when talking about his pardon decision.
- Trump has previously pardoned other celebrities, including Todd and Julie Chrisley, NBA YoungBoy and Lil Wayne.
President Donald Trump has given more insight into what is weighing in on his decision on whether or not to pardon Sean "Diddy" Combs.
In an interview that aired Aug. 1 on Newsmax with host Rob Finnerty, Trump discussed the possibility of presidential pardons for Combs, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and former Rep. George Santos.
"Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Would you consider pardoning him?" Finnerty asked. Trump didn't answer directly but said that negative comments that Combs made about him would make it "more difficult."
"Well he was essentially, I guess sort of, half-innocent. I don't know what they do, he's still in jail or something," Trump said of Combs. "He was celebrating a victory but I guess it wasn't as good of a victory."
Questions about a pardon started swirling even before jurors found Combs not guilty of the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking in a sweeping trial that nearly lasted two months. But the former music mogul was convicted on two counts of the lesser charge of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Plus, Trump has a history of pardoning celebrities. Here is what to know:
What celebrities has Trump pardoned?
Trump has a history of pardoning celebrities, including:
- Todd and Julie Chrisley - Sentenced for bank fraud charges, pardoned in May 2025.
- Rapper NBA YoungBoy (Legal name: Kentrell Gaulden) - Sentenced for federal gun charges, pardoned in May 2025.
- Actor Jay Johnston was sentenced for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 people who were charged in the riot upon returning to office.
- Lil Wayne (Legal name: Dwayne Michael Carter) - Sentenced for gun possession charges, pardoned in January 2021.
- Kodak Black (Legal name: Bill Kapri) - Sentenced for making false statements regarding attempting to acquire a firearm. His sentence was commuted, or reduced, in January 2021.
Trump implies history with Diddy weighing on pardon decision
In the Newsmax interview, Finnerty asked if Trump would consider pardoning Combs after asking if he would consider pardoning Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump mused on the outcome of Combs' trial and then 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."
"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."
He then agreed with the host that it was more likely a "no."
In the interview, Trump was seemingly referencing Combs' expletive-filled 2017 comments in The Daily Beast, essentially saying that "(Black people) don't really" care about Trump.
"The tomfoolery that’s going on in D.C., that’s just regular everyday business to Black folks," Combs told the left-leaning outlet in-part, adding later in the interview that he had to "keep it focused on that self-love that we need to give our race."
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the Paste BN Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.