Here’s what happened.
President Donald J. Trump set off a media firestorm Sunday after saying he knows “nothing” about Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire crypto mogul he pardoned earlier this year.
During a “60 Minutes” interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, President Trump shrugged off the controversy, calling Zhao’s prosecution a “Biden witch hunt” and insisting his decision was based on fairness, not politics.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump said. “I heard he got a short sentence — and from what I was told, it was just another Biden witch hunt. My sons are the ones into crypto, not me.”
Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to minor financial reporting violations, served just four months in prison before his release last year. In recent months, he had reportedly been pushing for a pardon, as the crypto industry rallied behind Trump’s pro-business agenda.
Trump Defends America’s Leadership in Innovation
President Trump emphasized that the United States must stay ahead of China and Japan in emerging financial technologies like cryptocurrency — something the Biden administration failed miserably at.
“I know very little about crypto, other than it’s a massive industry,” Trump said. “If we don’t lead, someone else will. So I’m 100% behind it.”
Under Biden, crypto firms faced relentless attacks from Washington bureaucrats. Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler became a symbol of the Democrats’ war on innovation, using regulations and lawsuits to cripple the digital economy.
Trump, meanwhile, has made it clear: he supports free enterprise, not government control. His administration has already taken steps to cut red tape and bring crypto leadership back to American soil.
Media Hysteria Over Trump’s Family Business Ties
Critics in the liberal media have tried to spin Trump’s pardon into a scandal — claiming a conflict of interest because Binance previously worked with the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Reports say an Emirati investment group used the firm’s stablecoin to invest $2 billion in Binance earlier this year. But Trump brushed off the suggestion that his decision was personal.
“I don’t think I ever met him,” Trump said. “Maybe someone shook my hand at an event, but I don’t know him. I was told he was treated unfairly — just like so many others under Biden’s corrupt Department of Justice.”
Trump added with a smile,
“Norah, I’m too busy fixing the country to worry about that. My sons run businesses — they’re not in government.”
Biden’s War on Business vs. Trump’s America-First Revival
Trump’s pardon of Zhao highlights a clear contrast between Biden’s anti-business bureaucracy and Trump’s vision for American prosperity.
While Biden’s regulators drove companies overseas, Trump is working to bring innovation, jobs, and investment back home.
His message is simple: the U.S. should lead — not follow — in global technology.
“We can’t let China or Japan run the next wave of innovation,” Trump said. “America has to be first again.”
Bottom Line
President Trump’s unapologetic stance on crypto — and his refusal to bow to media pressure — once again shows why millions of Americans trust him to defend freedom, business, and common sense against the chaos of the Biden era.
While the left obsesses over a pardon, Trump’s focus remains on rebuilding American greatness — one bold decision at a time.