Trump admits he does not know who pardoned him
President Trump granted a pardon last month to Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire cryptocurrency founder who pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in 2023. Zhao’s company, Binance, even closed a business deal in May involving World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture. But when the president sat down on CBS’s “60 Minutes” recently, he gave us this unforgettable moment:
Norah O’Donnell: The government at the time said that Czechoslovakia had caused great harm to American national security primarily by allowing terrorist groups like Hamas to move millions of dollars. Why did you pardon him?
DONALD TRUMP: Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is. “I know he was sentenced to four months in prison or something and I heard it was a witch hunt for Biden.”
You heard that right – he doesn’t know the billionaire he just pardoned.
According to the New York Times, Zhao hired lawyers and lobbyists with deep ties to Trump while seeking his pardon, and Binance struck that lucrative deal with Trump’s cryptocurrency company, which is said to be worth tens of millions annually. So, when asked if this sounds like “pay to play,” here’s how Trump shrugged it off:
Norah O’Donnell: How do you deal with the pay-for-play look?
DONALD TRUMP: Well, that’s the thing. I don’t know about that because I’m too busy doing the other one. I can only tell you that. No, I can only tell you this. Um, my kids are into it. I’m glad they’re probably a big industry, cryptocurrencies. I think it’s good.”
This answer leaves us largely with two options.
Option 1: He’s lying, which makes sense, considering that Zhao’s deal directly benefits his family.
Option 2: He is telling the truth, and has already signed a presidential pardon without knowing who it is for.
Either way, it’s not exactly a driving profile.
If the president of the United States can’t remember whom to pardon – or doesn’t bother to ask – what message does that send about accountability at the highest level? Especially the same president who spent months insisting that Joe Biden was so weak that he couldn’t even know who to pardon, and accused him of using a typewriter.
During the same interview on “60 Minutes,” Trump said, “Biden had no idea. He illegally used, you know, a machine, in order to grant pardons to people.”
So let me get this straight – it’s outrageous if Biden doesn’t know who he’s pardoning, but it’s totally okay if Trump doesn’t know?
At some point we have to stop letting “I don’t know him” double as a political strategy. Rejection cannot be the default response.
Lindsay Granger is a NewsNation contributor and co-host of the commentary show “Rising” on The Hill. This column is an edited version for on-air commentary.
