US President Donald Trump says he does not know Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, even after pardoning the Binance co-founder.
During a interview During the CBS show 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Trump was questioned about his decision to pardon CZ, which prosecutors said caused “significant harm to U.S. national security.”
“Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” the president responded. “I know he got a four-month prison sentence or something.”
Trump said Zhao was the target of a Biden “witch hunt.”
Trump said several people had told him that Zhao was the target of a “witch hunt” conducted by the former Joe Biden administration, which he said treated Zhao “very poorly.”
I am deeply grateful for today’s pardon and President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice.
🙏🙏🙏🙏We will do everything we can to make America the Capital of Crypto and promote web3 worldwide.
(Still on the way, 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 forgiving Zhao “might look bad” but said he had to “do the right thing.”
“I was told that he, like me and like many other people, was the victim of a cruel, terrible group of people in the Biden administration,” he added.
Trump threatened to leave the interview when pressed about the relationship with Zhao
After the show’s host said Zhao 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 responded by saying that his sons are more involved in the crypto space than he is. adding that Zhao’s indictment took place during the “corrupt” Biden administration and that his only concern is the US becoming a leader in the crypto space.
In a segment that did not appear on CBS but was later posted online, Trump threatened to walk away if O’Donnell continued to focus on the Zhao pardon.
“I’d rather you not ask the question,” Trump said. “But I made you ask. I could have 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 goal is to make the US the leader in the crypto space, and that he is proud that “we are.” way and way ahead of China and everyone else.”
“I want to make crypto great for America,” Trump added.
NEW: 🇺🇸 President DJ Trump says: “I only care about one thing: we become number one in crypto”
BULL RUN ✅ pic.twitter.com/mAIJPtJ4kg
— Mr. WHALE (@MrWhaleHQ) November 3, 2025
“I don’t want anyone else to have crypto and China to be number one in the world in crypto,” he continued.
Trump said crypto is an industry where only the leader in the space will thrive, adding that “you won’t have a number two.”
He then claimed that the US is currently “by far the number one” in crypto, and said he wants to keep it that way.
Related articles:
Best Wallet – Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio
- Easy-to-use, feature-driven crypto wallet
- Get early access to upcoming token ICOs
- Multi-chain, multi-wallet, non-custodial
- Now in the App Store, Google Play
- Stake to earn native token $BEST
- 250,000+ monthly active users
#Trump #idea #pardoning