What if the man who once fueled the Democratic Party suddenly became the loudest spokesperson for the president’s economic policies from behind bars?
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the collapsed FTX exchange, has been increasingly posting on X, supporting President Trump’s policies, criticizing Democrats, in the hope of getting a pardon.
White House says no pardon for SBF
In a recent interview, a White House spokesperson explicitly reiterated that President Donald Trump has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried.
Since Trump became president, he has pardoned some high-profile people related to the crypto industry, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the operator of the darknet market Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht.
Earlier in 2026, in a long interview, Trump grouped SBF with other high-profile figures like former Senator Robert Menendez, stating clearly that he has no intention of granting them clemency, and the recent White House spokesperson statement was firm: “The President is the ultimate decider on all pardons,” and right now, SBF is not on the list.
SBF’s online push for a presidential pardon
Currently serving a 25-year sentence at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, SBF has been using a friend to post near-daily messages on X.
Repeatedly insisting that FTX was always solvent and capable of repaying customers, he posted a “10 Myths” thread where he argued the exchange had more assets than liabilities pre and post-petition, blaming bankruptcy lawyers for prioritizing high fees over full restitution.
Being a top donor for the election campaign to defeat Trump in 2020, SBF is now resharing Trump’s Truth Social posts and praising his economic policies. He has spent weeks attacking the “deep state” and railing against Judge Lewis Kaplan, calling him a politically biased activist.
While SBF hasn’t directly asked for a pardon in his tweets, the campaign is widely seen as a failed attempt to get favored by the new administration.
