Did Donald Trump really praise Diddy and even defend him? Actually … yes.
Perhaps the disgraced former president should worry less about Taylor Swift’s endorsements and more about his own.
In the wake of Diddy’s indictment sharing the gruesome details of his alleged crimes, most are distancing themselves from the rapper.
Now, as a phony photo trying to place Vice President Harris at one of Diddy’s parties keeps making the rounds, Trumps own very real comments are circulating. No need to believe us: there’s video!
Is the rumor true? Did Donald Trump really defend Diddy?
Let’s take a step back for a second:
A few weeks before the election, the disgraced former president posted a fraudulent photograph that seemed to show Vice President Kamala Harris at a Diddy party in decades past. He posted it to his own social media site.
The original photo featured Montel Williams, who notably is not on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Diddy is. Trump’s intentions, insofar as someone with his mental capacities is capable of truly intending anything at this point, are obvious.
Trump appears alongside Diddy in numerous photos. Social media commentators have cited that he’s in more pics with Diddy than he is with his own terrible son, Eric Trump. This may be hyperbole.
Given that Trump defended Diddy — in real life, not in photoshop — this attempt at a smear was especially foolish.
It happened on NBC’s worst blunder, The Apprentice. This was on a 2012 episode of the reality series.
“I love Diddy,” Donald Trump announced on the episode. “I think he’s a good guy. I’m gonna stick up for him.” Truly, water always finds its own level.
When Donald Trump defended Diddy, what was he talking about?
The context of Trump defending Diddy is important. It isn’t pivotal — because it is mostly a refutation of his attempt to smear Vice President Kamala Harris by manufacturing shady ties to Diddy.
Donald Trump, who is a convicted criminal himself, was not referring to Diddy’s current charges.
Instead, he was talking about a vague suggestion by The Apprentice contestant Aubrey O’Day that Diddy, her former employer, might not have been a good person.
Trump made those comments on the first episode of the twelfth season of The Apprentice.
That deeply weird series ran from 2004 until 2017. Many Americans were largely unaware of its existence until he launched his then-farcical political campaign in 2015.
NBC, the same network that employed Matt Lauer for years, certainly made some choices when giving Donald Trump such a platform. The show hasn’t aged well — but then, neither have Trump’s comments about Diddy.
Does associating with a notorious criminal reflect upon the politician?
It might. There are certainly photos of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein with numerous politicians.
Why? Because a tremendous amount of what any politician does is spend time posing for photos with donors, celebrities, or simply other people at parties. They also shake hands to the point of injury, kiss babies, and go on talk shows.
Does it matter that Trump defended Diddy? Maybe. It probably matters more that Trump has a history of both boasting about sexual assault and being held liable for it in court. And it probably matters more that his intended policies would clearly make the United States a safer place for sexual predators than for survivors and potential victims.
Defending Diddy was an expression of Trump’s poor judgment, and likely not an intentional expression of solidarity with a fellow monster.
Yes, Donald Trump Really Defended Diddy: ‘I Think He’s a Good Guy’ was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.