President Donald Trump weighed in on rumors he may choose to pardon Sean “Diddy” Combs following the rapper’s conviction last month.
Donald Trump has shared that pardoning Diddy would be “difficult” due to the disgraced music mogul speaking out against him during his presidential campaign.
Combs’s sex trafficking and racketeering trial was highly covered by the media this year. In May 2025, Donald Trump said in the Oval Office that he was considering looking into the matter, when reporters asked him if he was planning to pardon Diddy, the President shared that there was a possibility that he might.
At the end of the trial, Combs was cleared of the more serious charges. He was found guilty of two minor charges, transportation for prostitution. The rapper is currently in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, awaiting his sentence, which is scheduled for October 3, 2025.
According to CBS News’ report dated August 1, 2025, Combs is expected to serve a prison term of 21 to 27 months. On Friday, Newsmax asked Trump his stance on Diddy’s trial and whether he would pardon the rapper.
Calling Combs “half-innocent,” the President stated that he didn’t know him very well. However, when they interacted years ago at parties, they “got along” great. Trump then said that pardoning him would be “difficult” as the rapper was “hostile” towards him when he ran for office.
Donald Trump said that Combs made “terrible statements,” and while he doesn’t want it to “cloud” his judgement, it makes pardoning the rapper “more difficult.” When the interviewer asked if the pardon is completely off the table, the President said no.
