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US President Donald Trump says he does not know Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, even after he issued a pardon for the Binance co-founder.
During an interview with the CBS show 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Trump was questioned about his decision to pardon CZ, who government prosecutors said had caused “significant harm to US national security.”
“Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” the President replied. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that.”
Trump Told Zhao Was Targeted In A Biden “Witch Hunt”
Trump said that several people had told him that Zhao was targeted in a “witch hunt” carried out by the former Joe Biden administration, who he says treated Zhao “really badly.”
Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.
🙏🙏🙏🙏Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.
(Still in flight, more posts to come.)…
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 23, 2025
“They sent him to jail and they really set him up,” Trump said. ”That’s my opinion.”
Trump acknowledged that he initially thought that pardoning Zhao “may look bad,” but said that he had to do “the right thing.”
“I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden administration,” he added.
Trump Threatened To Walk Out Of Interview When Pressed About Zhao Relationship
After the show’s host said Zhao had helped facilitate a $2 billion purchase of a stablecoin backed by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, she told Trump it looks like a ”pay for play” scenario.
Trump replied by saying that his sons are more involved in the crypto space than he is, adding that Zhao’s charge was during the “corrupt” Biden government and that his only concern is that the US becomes a leader in the crypto space.
In an excerpt that did not appear on CBS but was later posted online, the Trump threatened to walk away if O’Donnell continued to focus on the Zhao pardon.
“I’d rather not have you ask the question,” Trump said. “But I let you ask it. I coulda walked away. I didn’t have to answer this question.”
Trump Wants To Make The US A Crypto Leader Before China Takes Over
Trump said his aim is to make the US the leader in the crypto space, and that he’s proud that ”we are far and way ahead of China and everybody else.”.
“I wanna make crypto great for America,” Trump added.
NEW: 🇺🇸 President DJ Trump says, “I only care about one thing: will we be number one in crypto”
BULLRUN ✅ pic.twitter.com/mAIJPtJ4kg
— Mr. WHALE (@MrWhaleHQ) November 3, 2025
“I don’t wanna have somebody else have crypto and have China be number one in the world in crypto,” he went on to say.
Trump said that crypto is an industry where only the leader in the space will thrive, adding that “you’re not going to have a number two.”
He then claimed that the US is currently “number one” in crypto by a “long shot,” and said he wants to keep it that way.
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