Do Americans support Trump pardons? Poll asks about George Santos, crypto founder

Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald on Oct 29, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s recent acts of clemency have not gone over well with the American public, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov/Economist survey, a majority of respondents said they oppose Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of former Rep. George Santos and to pardon cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao.

There was also near-unanimous resistance to the idea of pardoning two other high-profile convicts: Sean “Diddy” Combs and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The survey — conducted with 1,623 U.S. adults Oct. 24-27 — comes nine months into Trump’s second term, during which time he has granted clemency to numerous individuals, including white-collar criminals, celebrities and some 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters.

The U.S. Constitution grants the president broad authority to issue clemency for federal offenses, a power nearly every president has exercised — often generating significant controversy.

Ex-congressman, crypto billionaire

A decisive majority of respondents, 60%, said they oppose Trump commuting the sentence of Santos, while just 16% said they approve of this decision.

While most Democrats and independents — 88% and 62%, respectively — expressed disapproval, only 31% of Republicans did the same.

Santos, a former Republican congressman from New York, became the sixth-ever representative to be expelled from the House in 2023, following reports he had lied about his background and misused campaign finances. He pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and identity theft and was sentenced to seven years in prison in April.

On October 17, Trump announced he had commuted Santos’ prison sentence, asserting that Santos had been “horribly mistreated” and praising him for “ALWAYS” voting with Republicans.

The survey revealed even greater opposition to Trump pardoning Zhao, the founder of the crypto exchange Binance.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they disapproved of the Republican president’s decision, while 12% said they approved of it.

Here, again, there was a major partisan divide. Most Democrats and independents — 90% and 68% — expressed opposition, while 34% of Republicans agreed.

In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to facilitating money laundering and subsequently served a four-month prison term, completing his sentence in September 2024.

The president pardoned Zhao on Oct. 23. Addressing his decision, a White House spokesperson said, “Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”

Binance has played a significant role in supporting World Liberty Financial, the company overseeing many of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures, which have generated billions in revenue for the family, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Diddy, Maxwell

The survey — which has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points — also asked respondents whether Trump should pardon Combs and Maxwell, both of whom were convicted of sex crimes and maintain their innocence.

The vast majority, 86%, said the GOP president should not grant clemency to Combs, while just 4% said he should. Here, there was a consensus across the political spectrum, with 88% of Democrats, 86% of Republicans and 85% of independents opposing a pardon.

Combs — once a powerful music mogul known for his connections with celebrities and politicians — was convicted on prostitution-related charges and sentenced in October to just over four years in prison. Trump said he has sought a pardon.

Meanwhile, the idea of a pardon for Maxwell received the most widespread pushback.

The overwhelming majority of respondents, 90%, said the British socialite should not be pardoned, while just 2% said she should be. Ninety-two percent of Democrats, 91% of Republicans and 88% of independents telegraphed opposition to clemency.

In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of multiple charges relating to her role assisting Jeffrey Epstein in abusing underage girls. The following year, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and is currently serving out her sentence in Texas.

Trump has signaled he may be open to pardoning Maxwell, who has cooperated with the Department of Justice in its inquiry into Epstein. In October, he told reporters, “I’d have to take a look at it.”

Before he was president, Trump socialized with Maxwell and Epstein, including at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Epstein once referred to himself as Trump’s “closest friend,” according to author Michael Wolff.

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