Trump Allegedly Manipulated by Ripple Lobbyists to Support XRP as National Crypto Reserve, Enraged Upon Discovering the Truth

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Trump Misled by Lobbyist

Ripple’s Relationship with Trump Has Context

According to a report by Politico, U.S. President Donald Trump was allegedly misled by a lobbyist associated with Ripple Labs, leading him to post on his social media platform a message supporting the inclusion of XRP, Solana, and Cardano in the United States’ “National Cryptocurrency Reserve” policy, only to be enraged after discovering the underlying interests involved.
It is reported that this controversial tweet was posted by Trump himself on March 2, claiming that the United States would establish a strategic cryptocurrency asset reserve that includes the three altcoins: XRP, Solana, and Cardano. The contents of the post were allegedly provided to Trump by a member of the pro-Trump lobbyist Brian Ballard’s team.


However, Trump later discovered that Ripple was, in fact, a client of Brian Ballard, which greatly displeased him. Sources indicate that after learning the truth, Trump angrily stated, “He (Ballard) is no longer welcome.”

Ripple’s Relationship with Trump Has Context

Although Trump later claimed ignorance, there have been multiple connections between Ripple and Trump’s camp:

Ripple’s General Counsel Stuart Alderoty donated over $300,000 to pro-Trump political action committees (PACs) and fundraising organizations during the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Alderoty both met with President-elect Trump in January 2025 and attended his inauguration.
Ripple also donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s presidential inauguration fund and has long supported the pro-cryptocurrency candidate political action committee Fairshake.
Despite the report revealing potential political manipulation, as of the time of publication, XRP’s price does not appear to have been affected, having increased over 7% in the past 24 hours.