Why Diddy Finally Turned On Donald Trump & Ended Their Friendship
Sean "Diddy" Combs and former president Donald Trump have a lot of things in common, so it's not surprising that the two struck up a friendship at one point. But over the years, the dynamic between the two shifted, and ultimately the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper turned on Trump.
Ahead of Trump running for president in the 2016 election, Diddy was all in on the businessman. He told The Washington Post (via The Hill) in 2015, "Donald Trump is a friend of mine, and he works very hard." Not only did the rapper admire Trump's work ethic and the empire he built, but Combs was also a fan of the president's style. He told The New York Post, "I always liked Donald's style. I do have a tie he gifted me. I wear it." The two had the makings of an unlikely but great friendship, but Combs did have hesitations, and admitted that he was on the fence about whether he would vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The rapper said, "As far as voting for him, that has yet to be seen."
It's unclear whether Combs did vote for Trump in 2016, but as he took on the presidency, the rapper changed his feelings about his former friend. Instead of being Trump's hype man, Combs turned on the businessman and became a big critic of how he handled political issues during his time in office.
Diddy called out Donald Trump and endorsed Joe Biden
Sean "Diddy" Combs flipped a switch when it came to his friendship with Donald Trump. When Trump became president, things changed drastically, and many of his former friendships faltered — his friendship with Combs being one of them. In a 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God, the rapper expressed worries about what would happen if Trump were to get reelected as president in the 2020 election. "If this man [Trump] is elected, we're not standing by no more getting killed, we not scared of anybody standing up and standing by, we're on the verge of a race war," Diddy said. This came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement surging in response to police violence and the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Combs continued criticizing his former friend and Trump's controversial opinions in the interview as he said, "White men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous." With the 2020 election nearing, the rapper found it essential to endorse Trump's opponent, Joe Biden. "When we look at it we don't have no choice," he said. "Say what you want about Biden, I can't say I love to pick either but, hey, we gotta get him [Biden] in office, and then we gotta hold him accountable." Combs' interview drew a line in the sand as he made it clear his friendship with Trump was over.
Diddy and Donald Trump's friendship had its ups and downs
Before Sean "Diddy" Combs and former President Donald Trump's feud, the rapper was willing to leave the door slightly open for the businessman to come back into his life. Combs hadn't completely given up on Trump when he took office in 2016, despite his controversial campaign. While appearing on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in 2018, Combs revealed that he and Trump were once so close that the would-be president had attended his 30th birthday (via Billboard).
Things had changed, but he did admit that he would be willing to sit down and talk with Trump. "I'm not against speaking to anybody for the betterment of the greater good. We're in a crazy time," Diddy said. "It's really hard to speak and amplify what's going on. I try right now to just lead by example and I think a lot of times it's a big distraction and a lot of times it's a wake up call for us to take accountability on the future of America and the future of the world."
They were further away from being friends again when Combs bashed Trump in his 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God, going as far as to call him "dangerous." Clearly, Trump and Combs' friendship has been hot and cold over the years, but it seems the two are permanently on the outs.