Former President Donald Trump is being called out for several resurfaced photos with rapper and music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, who was arrested in New York on Monday for sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs, who pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Tuesday afternoon and faces a life sentence if convicted, was denied bail and will remain in federal detention.
And immediately after his arrest, photos of Combs and Trump popped up, with critics noting that Trump had associated with Combs much like how he'd regularly spent time with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019.
@DogginTrump/X
Other photos show not just Trump with Diddy but Diddy with Elon Musk, the billionaire who owns X, formerly Twitter. Diddy is an investor in X.
@ArtCandee/X
@ArtCandee/X
@ArtCandee/X
Additionally, Trump and Diddy both appeared together in a Macy's commercial.
Trump also boasted about his relationship with Diddy back in 2015, shortly after he came down the golden escalator and kicked off his fateful presidential campaign.
@realDonaldTrump/X
Trump's relationship with Combs is suspicious, critics have noted, because of his prior relationship with Epstein.
Trump had a close relationship with Epstein and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell for decades. The trio were often photographed together.
Trump once referred to Epstein as a “terrific guy” in an interview with New York magazine, a statement that came back to haunt him over the following decade when Epstein was arrested on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.
Much later, once Maxwell was arrested and Trump, who by then was in office, was asked for remarks, he said, “I just wish her well, frankly," a comment that placed his association with the two criminals under further scrutiny.
In fact, flight logs introduced in Maxwell's trial showed Trump flew on Epstein's private jet seven times between 1993 and 1997,
Many have criticized Trump since the photos resurfaced.
According to court documents, Combs "wielded the power" of his celebrity status to "lure female victims... to engage in extended sex acts" referred to as "Freak Offs."
Federal prosecutors stated that Combs had "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct." Prosecutors also accuse Combs of "creating a criminal enterprise," where members, under his direction, were involved in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, and bribery.
Last November, Combs' ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra "Cassie" Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him, detailing claims of violent abuse. Although Combs denied the accusations, he settled the case just one day after it was filed. In May, Combs publicly apologized following the release of hotel security footage that appeared to show him assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
This indictment adds to a growing list of sexual assault allegations against Combs, a major figure in the rap industry. So far, four women, including Ventura, have sued him for sexual and physical abuse.
