The Trump "Promote XRP and Other Cryptocurrency Reserves" Post Was Driven by Lobbyists, and I Was Furious After Learning About It

BlockBeats News, May 9th, according to Politico, on March 2nd, Trump had posted on Truth Social stating that he would advance a cryptocurrency strategic reserve including XRP, SOL, and ADA. However, hours later, Trump felt he had been fooled, became furious, and ordered Brian Ballard to be blacklisted from the White House. At that time, Trump was participating in a fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago, where an employee of the prominent lobbying firm Ballard Partners had repeatedly lobbied the president in person, strongly advocating for Trump to publicly support the crypto industry. The lobbyist not only personally delivered a drafted speech for Trump but also emphasized the importance of promoting the industry. Trump later realized that the company behind XRP mentioned in the tweet, Ripple Labs, was a client of Ballard Partners.

The lobbying firm Ballard Partners is operated by American political operative Brian Ballard, who is known for his close relationship with Trump and has been considered an "insider" of the Trump administration. A few minutes after the president's post, White House cryptocurrency and AI czar David Sacks was reportedly outraged and immediately called Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to protest. Trump also bluntly stated in an internal meeting that Ballard should "never think about getting involved in anything again," and White House staff were instructed not to meet with Brian Ballard.

Despite being internally blacklisted, Ballard still received invitations to Trump's fundraising events and successfully arranged a meeting between NFL executives and the president, indicating that Ballard did not sever ties with the White House.