“Nobody’s asked,” said President Donald Trump when asked Friday about whether he would consider pardoning Sean “Diddy” Combs, a rapper and music mogul who is currently on trial for sex trafficking.
Trump was answering press questions in the Oval Office when the question came up. Reporters noted that the two men were friends at one point.
Last May, Page Six reported on Combs’ star studded 1998 birthday bash. Trump attended the party along with many other celebrities, including Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock and more.
Hip-Hop artist Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs performing on ‘MTV 2 Large’ on New Year’s Eve in MTV’s Times Square studios, 12/31/99. Photo credit (Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect)
According to Snopes, Trump himself called Combs his friend during a 2012 episode of his reality TV show “The Apprentice” during a discussion with Aubrey O’Day, a singer who was once part of Danity Kane, a girl group that Combs created.
“I love Diddy. […] You know he is a good friend of mine. He’s a good guy. Is he a good guy?” said Trump, responding to O’Day’s comment that during her six years working for Combs she was “trained… to have to be perfect.”
“I don’t want to answer that question,” said O’Day in response to Trump’s question about whether Combs was a “good guy.”
“Oh well, I think he’s a good guy, I’m going to stick up for him,” said Trump.
Fast forward to Friday’s Oval Office meeting, and Trump didn’t seem as confident that he would support Combs.
“I haven’t been watching it too closely, although it’s certainly getting a lot of coverage,” he said of the trial.
Audacy reported last year that a press conference revealed “shocking allegations” against Combs, including claims that he sexually assaulted 25 minors, one as young as 9 years old. CNN has been providing live updates on his ongoing sex trafficking trial, which reached its 13th day on Friday.
“I was young and manipulated and eager to survive,” said a woman who testified at the trial. “I’m unraveling a lot of this now in therapy. Nobody was there to say these things that were happening were wrong. There was nobody around us that ever even flinched at his behavior. I was always in trouble and I was always just trying to find a way not to be in trouble.”
Trump told reporters Friday that he hasn’t seen or spoken to Combs in years.
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Photo credit (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics, sort of, that relationship busted up, from what I’ve read,” he said, later adding that “you become a much different person when you run for politics, and you do what’s right.”
As for a potential pardon for Combs, Trump did not provide a definitive yes or no answer.
“I think some people have been very close to asking,” he said.
Shortly after taking office for his second term this year, Trump pardoned members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers (groups that have been identified as hate organizations) who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. At the end of his first term, Trump pardoned two rappers, Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) and Kodak Black (Bill K. Kapri). However, despite pleas from Joe Exotic (Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage), Trump did not pardon the “Tiger King” star.
