'No idea who he is', says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon

Alleged Trump–Zhao/Crypto Connections

• Several comments claim a deep financial link between the president’s family crypto venture (World Liberty Financial, WLF) and Binance.
• WLF is described as hosting its stablecoin and meme coins on Binance and receiving hundreds of millions of dollars, allegedly coinciding with opaque “deals” involving Middle Eastern and other foreign actors.
• One commenter frames Zhao as effectively the president’s “personal banker” outside normal USD-regulated channels, arguing it is implausible he wouldn’t know who Zhao is.

Credibility of “No Idea Who He Is”

• Many see the president’s denial as blatantly false, or evidence of severe cognitive decline, or proof he is merely rubber-stamping decisions made by aides.
• A minority argues a more mundane scenario: staff presented Zhao as a victim of the previous administration, the president agreed on that basis without detailed knowledge, and no elaborate conspiracy is required.

Clemency, Corruption, and Presidential Power

• Some note that clemency traditionally passes through layers of review, but presidents normally still know the high-profile cases to avoid being caught off guard.
• Others argue pardons have always been vulnerable to money and influence; this administration is simply exposing how much the U.S. system relies on norms rather than hard limits.
• Several commenters advocate tightening presidential powers (including pardons), while others insist some form of clemency must be preserved (especially around death penalty cases).
• A number of participants explicitly interpret this pardon as part of a broader “selling pardons” or pay‑to‑play scheme.

US Standing, China, and Authoritarian Drift

• The thread detours into whether the U.S. is still seen as “better” than China; some Europeans say the fact this is now debatable is itself alarming.
• Arguments cover U.S. military power, coerced alliances, failed occupations like Afghanistan, and the risk of expanded presidential authority (tariffs, domestic troop use, immigration enforcement).
• Several see open contradiction and shameless lying (“I don’t know him” vs clear ties) as a core tactic of authoritarian politics, not an accident.

Crypto Industry Notes

• One commenter notes Zhao’s influence extends beyond Binance to multiple major exchanges with similar tech stacks and weak KYC, and predicts U.S. deregulation will further ease crypto on/off-ramps.