“IS HE LYING OR LOSING HIS MEMORY?”: Trump denying knowledge of Chanpeng Zhao pardon in 60 Minutes triggers confusion online

Donald Trump, the of the United States, has created some confusion and controversy by saying in a 60 Minutes interview that he has "no idea" who Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance is, even though he personally pardoned Zhao a month ago.

In Sunday’s broadcast of CBS News’ 60 Minutes, host Norah O’Donnell asked Trump about his rationale for pardoning Zhao, who had pled guilty in 2023 to operating a cryptocurrency exchange where he enabled money laundering. Federal prosecutors had previously said that Zhao's actions had caused "significant damage to U.S. national security."

When questioned about his reasoning behind granting the pardon, Trump stated, "Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is." He went on to say he did not remember ever meeting Zhao and was told only that the founder of Binance was a "a victim of a witch hunt by the Biden administration."

Soon after the president’s statement, the internet started buzzing with users questioning how one person could state he knew nothing about Zhao even though he had a presidential pardon wiping the restrictions from his financial dealings.

"IS HE LYING OR LOSING HIS MEMORY? On 60 Minutes tonight Donald Trump admitted that he has no knowledge, (and perhaps no memory) of pardoning convicted crypto scam artist Changpeng Zhao," a X user wrote.

IS HE LYING OR LOSING HIS MEMORY?

On 60 Minutes tonight Donald Trump admitted that he has no knowledge, (and perhaps no memory) of pardoning convicted crypto scam artist Changpeng Zhao.

"Here's the thing -- I know nothing about it."

Your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/zA5SWGFAt1

— Lovable Liberal and his Old English sheepdog (@DougWahl1) November 3, 2025

"If I heard it right he first said that he didn't know who that was, but a second later he did remember what Zhao did. So lying - and being bad at it, too," another pointed out.

"He always “knows nothing about it” when asked questions he doesn’t want to answer. He’s either out of the loop on what is going on in his own administration or lying. Neither equals a leader," remarked an internet user.

"I’d say he’s lying. “I know nothing about…” is his standard answer to questions he doesn’t want to answer," a user wrote.

People were also quick to speculate that Trump could be manipulated to sign the pardon by some of the people from his own administration.

"Who manipulated Trump into pardoning Zhao? The Trump Boys? We can see that Trump is easily played. World leaders are aware that Trump is gullible, and I suspect those around him are also aware of this," commented a user.

"Dementia? Or maybe his pardon was signed by an autopen, like the nearly 1,600 J6 criminals he pardoned. There is no way he personally signed nearly 1,600 pardons on Day One of his second term, despite all his ranting about Biden's autopen," another user remarked.

Who is Changpeng Zhao and more about his recent pardon

Changpeng Zhao, referred to consistently as “CZ” - is an entrepreneurial billionaire, and Chinese Canadian best known as the founder and the past CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume.

Zhao was born in Jiangsu, China, and immigrated to Canada as a teenager. He then went on to attend McGill University where he studied computer science.

Before launching Binance in 2017, he worked in the finance technology industry, including as a software developer for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and lead developer for Bloomberg Tradebook where he created trading systems.

Thanks to Zhao, Binance managed to become the leading platform in trading digital assets worldwide. Nevertheless, his achievements were overshadowed by multiple regulatory issues. Thus, in 2023, Zhao was convicted for contravening US anti-laundering legislation.

The arrest followed the claim that Binance neglected to report illicit transactions conducted via the platform, some of which related to such organizations as Hamas and al-Qaeda. In response, the company agreed to pay more than $4 billion in fines, while Zhao was sanctioned with a $50 million fine and imprisoned for four months.

Reporter: "Why did you pardon Changpeng Zhao?"

Trump: "I don't know who he is."

For all the shrieking about the autopen, this is exponentially worse.

Objectively the most corrupt administration in American history.pic.twitter.com/ZhHqeTshzM

— Joshua Reed Eakle 🗽 (@JoshEakle) November 3, 2025

In October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao, and the latter once again became eligible to engage in financial activities.

The president’s decision caused heated debates because of Zhao’s previous criminal record and the fact that many cryptocurrency businesses he is connected to belong to Trump’s family members, such as Dominari Holdings, which housed its offices in the Trump Tower.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously expressed the president’s pardon. She said the prosecution’s action against Zhao was “just another example of the Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrency”.

Leavitt added that Trump’s action was to “right the Biden administration’s overreach and injustice” and called Zhao’s case individually “thoroughly reviewed”. Trump’s statement draws more attention, but the incident is one of the recent examples of the fine line existing between politics, finance, and digital currencies.