U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly misled by a Ripple-linked lobbyist into endorsing certain crypto in a Truth Social post about a U.S. crypto reserve in March, leading to the lobbyist’s removal and straining ties with top White House officials.
A Truth Social post by U.S. President Donald Trump praising Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) as potential components of a U.S. “Crypto Strategic Reserve” has triggered internal conflict in Trump’s circle, not due to market impact, but because of who authored the message.
According to Politico, Trump published the post in early March, asserting that his administration would position the U.S. as the “Crypto Capital of the World” by including select tokens like XRP, SOL, and ADA in a new reserve system.
However, the excitement quickly turned into frustration. Trump later learned that the message had been drafted by a lobbyist affiliated with Ballard Partners, a firm whose clients include Ripple Labs, the company most closely associated with XRP.
Two anonymous sources told Politico that a Ballard employee handed Trump the draft during a donor event at Mar-a-Lago and encouraged him to publicly support the digital assets.
Unaware of the lobbyist’s affiliations, Trump reportedly posted the message without knowing the full context.
Staff firing
Once Trump realized Ripple’s connection, he was reportedly furious and ordered his team to sever ties with the lobbyist. “He is not welcome in anything anymore,” one source quoted Trump as saying.
While Ripple maintains it does not control XRP, the company is a central player in the token’s ecosystem and has been involved in several legal and regulatory battles.
The timing of Trump’s post — and the resulting price spikes in XRP, SOL, and ADA — added fuel to suspicions of market manipulation or political opportunism.
Ballard Partners, led by longtime Trump ally Brian Ballard, has held significant sway in Washington since Trump’s 2016 election. The firm reportedly brought in $14 million in lobbying revenue in Q1 2025 and represents high-profile clients including TikTok and BMW.
Following the incident, however, Ballard has reportedly been frozen out of Trump’s orbit, with staff instructed to avoid meetings with the firm.
Ballard has pushed back on the narrative. In a statement to Politico, he said the firm is “accustomed to false accusations” and denied leveraging his relationship with Trump for business. Still, some close to the president believe the fallout was inevitable. “One way to get yourself in the doghouse is for the president to think you’re trading on his name,” a Trump confidant said.
While Trump later clarified that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) would also be included in any strategic reserve, the damage had been done.
The White House declined to comment on the matter. Ripple also has not issued a public statement.
