They don't agree.

I found no evidence of a close personal or business relationship between Holmes and Trump. The clearest direct link is her 2025 commutation petition to him, along with her recent social media support for his administration's policies. Some indirect links come from Theranos associates who later served in his first administration, namely Mattis and the DeVos family. The Mattis and DeVos points come from my background knowledge, not from my search. Her clemency request is still pending, and Trump has not commented publicly.

• Holmes filed a commutation request with the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney in 2025, and it is listed as pending; the White House declined to comment.
• She was convicted in 2022 of investor fraud and conspiracy, and her sentence was about 11 years.
• In 2025 and 2026 she posted support for Trump administration policies and for officials such as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
• Earlier, she was mainly linked to Democrats, including donations and ties to Obama-era and Biden-era figures.
• Theranos had Trump-linked people connected to it: James Mattis sat on its board and later became Trump's Defense Secretary, and the DeVos family invested before Betsy DeVos became Trump's Education Secretary.

1. Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to commute her prison sentence foxbusiness.com
2. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes requests President Donald Trump to commute her prison sentence, per US Department of Justice - ABC7 Los Angeles abc7.com
3. Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump administration to commute her prison sentence - ABC News abcnews.com
4. Elizabeth Holmes Thirsts Over Donald Trump After Shock Release Plan Revealed yahoo.com
5. Elizabeth Holmes Prison Release Date usprisonguide.com
6. theranos founder elizabeth holmes asks trump to commute her prison sentence ce7e58d2da8ff325 marketscreener.com
7. elizabeth holmes clemency request trump fortune.com
8. elizabeth holmes clemency request trump fortune.com

The important distinction is between indirect connections and a documented personal relationship. Mattis and the DeVos family provide concrete links to Trump’s political circle; her clemency application establishes an effort to obtain presidential help. Neither, by itself, demonstrates that Holmes and Trump were friends, business partners, or personally in contact. The reporting cited here does not establish such a relationship.

• James Mattis served on Theranos’s board from 2013 to 2016 before becoming Trump’s secretary of defense.
• The family of Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education secretary, invested $100 million in Theranos.
• Holmes applied in 2025 to have Trump commute her prison sentence, Reuters reported on January 21, 2026.
• Her social-media account has also published messages praising Trump and his administration.

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2. investing.com
3. independent.co.uk
4. justice.gov
5. tollbit.forbes.com
6. hhs.gov
7. hhs.gov
8. fortune.com

There is no public or historical record of Elizabeth Holmes and Donald Trump interacting, partnering in business, or maintaining a personal connection. During Theranos' peak, Holmes primarily courted bipartisan political figures and Silicon Valley elites, and during the 2016 presidential campaign, she actively supported Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton. Overlaps between them are strictly incidental: members of Trump's first administration had pre-existing ties to Theranos before joining government—such as retired General James Mattis, who served on Theranos' board of directors, and Betsy DeVos, whose family lost $100 million in the startup. Later, while serving an 11-year prison sentence, Holmes' public profile and legal strategy shifted toward petitioning Trump for executive clemency.

• Donald Trump never invested in Theranos and had no personal or business relationship with Elizabeth Holmes.
• During the 2016 presidential election, Holmes was politically aligned with Hillary Clinton and co-hosted a fundraiser for Clinton's campaign.
• Notable members of Trump's first cabinet had past ties to Theranos, including Defense Secretary James Mattis (a former board member) and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (whose family invested $100 million).
• While serving her federal prison sentence for fraud, Holmes petitioned Trump's administration for a sentence commutation and expressed support for him online.

1. forbes.com
2. washingtonpost.com
3. theguardian.com
4. lakeroadadvisors.com
5. the-independent.com

The question can mean a personal or business relationship, or any link at all. No evidence supports a relationship: nothing in the record shows the two ever met, worked together or did business while Theranos was operating. What the record does show, from 2025-2026, is a one-sided approach by Holmes toward Trump's administration: a formal commutation request to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, pro-Trump posts on X, and language echoing his grievances about the justice system. That is a connection in the loose sense of her seeking clemency from him, but it is not the mutual tie most people would mean by "connections", so partly is the fair answer. Evidence for the documented steps is solid; the absence of earlier ties rests on the lack of any reporting, hence mixed overall.

• Justice Department Office of the Pardon Attorney records showed Holmes filed a request to commute her sentence, listed as pending as of January 2026, and she confirmed the filing on X.
• In September 2026 her X account reposted a Trump video with the caption "We are winning", which commentators including The View's Alyssa Farah Griffin read as angling for a pardon.
• Holmes' January 2026 statement said "the fight against weaponization of our justice system is just beginning", a phrase Trump has used about prosecutions against him.
• The Federal Bureau of Prisons approved her transfer from prison to a residential halfway house in Texas on 24 September 2026.
• No pre-2023 business, employment, social or financial tie between Holmes and Trump appears in the reporting; Theranos collapsed and she was convicted in 2022, before any documented contact.

1. Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes seeks Trump commutation - UPI.com - Jan upi.com
2. ‘The View’: Alyssa Farah Griffin Suspects Elizabeth Holmes Is Angling for a Pardon After Recent Pro-Trump Posts - Advertisement malaysia.news.yahoo.com
3. Elizabeth Holmes retweets Trump post as she angles for presidential pardon: ‘We are winning’ - Advertisement malaysia.news.yahoo.com
4. Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to commute sentence nbcbayarea.com
5. Trump-Loving Fraudster Posts Cryptic Message From Prison - ONE TINY FLOP thedailybeast.com
6. Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to commute her sentence - Advertisement dailymail.co.uk

The available evidence shows that Elizabeth Holmes publicly supported Donald Trump and sought clemency from his administration, indicating a political alignment or strategic move. However, there is no documentation or credible report of a direct personal, financial, or political relationship between Holmes and Trump beyond these public actions and her clemency request. The connection is therefore best described as partial, based on public expressions and a formal request for clemency, rather than a deeper or ongoing association.

• Elizabeth Holmes retweeted a video from Donald Trump in September 2026, adding the caption 'We are winning.'
• Holmes formally requested clemency from Donald Trump in December 2025, a request that remains pending.
• Holmes previously hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in 2016 but has more recently expressed support for Trump.
• There is no evidence that Trump or his administration intervened in Holmes' sentence or early release plans.
• No direct personal, financial, or political ties between Holmes and Trump have been documented.

1. Elizabeth Holmes retweets Trump post as she angles for presidential pardon: ‘We are winning’ | The Independent the-independent.com
2. Elizabeth Holmes Thirsts Over Donald Trump After Shock Release Plan Revealed yahoo.com
3. Disgraced Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Praises Donald Trump After Securing Early Prison Release yahoo.com
4. Disgraced Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Praises Donald Trump After Securing Early Prison Release usmagazine.com
5. Elizabeth Holmes A24 Movie Comes As She Seeks Clemency From Trump—And Praises Him In Posts forbes.com
6. MAGA Secret at Heart of Bombshell Elizabeth Holmes Doc Exposed thedailybeast.com
7. Elizabeth Holmes Cryptically Declares 'We Are Winning' After Reposting Donald Trump's Video Amid Prison Sentence Shake-Up radaronline.com
8. Trump-Loving Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes Posts Cryptic Message From Prison thedailybeast.com