On Friday evening, President Donald Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview on his second administration with Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty.
In one segment, the president fields a question on the legacy media’s swirling speculation on him possibly pardoning or commuting the prison sentences of several recent, high-profile cases: Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, and former Rep. George Santos (R-NJ). I’ll jump quickly past the latter two right away, since Pres. Trump told the interviewer that he hasn’t spent much time considering their cases.
About Santos, Trump said, “He lied like hell,” adding that while he didn’t personally know the former congressman, and “might have met him,” “[h]e was 100 percent for Trump.” The president jabbed “the other side” and the media for not trying harder to ferret out Santos’ alleged misdeed before he was elected. He added that no one has asked him to pardon Santos.
READ ALSO: New: Former NY Rep. George Santos Sentenced in Wire Fraud/Identity Theft Case
Finnerty also queried Trump about Jeffrey Epstein associate Maxwell’s 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, whether “clemency was on the table for her, in exchange for testimony.”
Pres. Trump said that while as president he has the authority to “give pardons to people,” as he did in his first term, he doesn’t know anything about Ghislaine’s case and, like with George Santos, “nobody’s even asked me to do it.” We’ll circle back to Epstein shortly.
READ MORE: Speaker Johnson: Ghislaine Maxwell ‘Deserves Life in Prison’
As expected, the leftists who hover over every word that the president says–like vultures hoping to swoop down on some carrion they’ve seen from afar–thought they had spotted a prime opportunity to feast. Here’s how radical progressive messaging outfit, Meidas Touch, tried to spin his reply about Sean “Diddy” Combs:
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
Q: More likely a no?
Trump: I would say so
Except of course that wasn’t everything he said. Facial expressions say so much, too, and during his answer, Trump’s face expresses the anguish you’d expect someone to express, whose formerly close acquaintance has publicly trashed their relationship. He also has to answer as the President of the United States.
The dishonest schemers/influencers on the left depend on the people who obediently follow their every post to not watch the full answer (See the video at the bottom of the page). Anyone who bothers to watch the video will also know that Donald Trump has always had a roundabout way of answering questions; it’s no different this time.
I can’t leave this last clip out, since it’s related to the accusation the legacy media has been spreading connected to the Jeffrey Epstein files, which they claim the administration hasn’t fully released to protect Trump and/or has cut an immunity deal with Maxwell because the documents include dirt on him. In his answer on Friday, Trump not only praises Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s work while grilling the former Epstein girlfriend for nine hours–but gives what I think is the best answer to date:
President Trump tells @RobFinnertyUSA that if Jeffrey Epstein files damaging to himself existed, then his political enemies would have brought them to light before the 2024 election — “unless they’re stupid, which to a certain extent, they are.” pic.twitter.com/AT2l9FiTIc
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 2, 2025
The very people who worked so hard with the Russia collusion hoax trying to keep Trump from office would have used any actual dirt in their possession against him when they had control of the White House. That’s something the media and its leftist friends try desperately to wave away because it implicates them, too.
You can watch the full pardons segment below, courtesy of Newsmax:
President Trump reacts to media chatter of potential clemency or presidential pardons for figures like Ghislaine Maxwell, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and former Rep. George Santos. @RobFinnertyUSA pic.twitter.com/Hzd2ZaF2SA
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 2, 2025
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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