In an unexpected twist involving politics and crypto, former President Donald Trump was allegedly misled into promoting XRP as part of a proposed national cryptocurrency reserve — a move that has sparked backlash and exposed deeper ties between Ripple Labs and Trump’s inner political circle.
A Social Media Slip-up with Ripple Ties
According to a May 8 report from Politico, Trump’s now-notorious March 2 post on Truth Social outlining plans for a U.S. strategic crypto reserve — one that included XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) — was not entirely his own doing.
The message reportedly originated from an employee of Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with close ties to Ripple Labs. That post, which was enthusiastically shared on Trump’s social platform, sparked immediate speculation across the crypto world. But according to sources familiar with the situation, the former president was furious upon learning that Ripple was one of lobbyist Brian Ballard’s clients.
“He is not welcome in anything anymore,” Trump reportedly said, referring to Ballard — a statement that suggests the former president felt blindsided by what he saw as a deceptive play to leverage his political influence for Ripple’s gain.
Ripple’s Longstanding Relationship with Trump
While Trump may have felt caught off guard, this wasn’t Ripple’s first brush with the Trump camp. The company has strategically invested in building political bridges over the years.
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, has donated over $300,000 to Trump-aligned PACs and fundraising efforts for the 2024 election. In addition, both Alderoty and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse reportedly met with Trump during his post-election transition in January and were seen at various inauguration events.
Ripple’s influence doesn’t stop there — the company made a splash by contributing $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s presidential inaugural fund, positioning itself as a power player among pro-crypto political donors. It’s also a key backer of Fairshake, a political action committee that supports “crypto-friendly” candidates. Fairshake has signaled that it will remain active through the 2026 midterms.
Crypto Reserve Becomes Reality
Despite the controversy, Trump forged ahead. Just four days after the original post, he signed an executive order on March 6 calling for the creation of a “Digital Asset Stockpile”, a formal step toward what appears to be a national crypto reserve. At the time of writing, that March 2 post remains live, and no official retraction has been issued.
Market Reaction Remains Tepid
Interestingly, the market didn’t seem rattled by the Politico revelations. XRP held steady around $2.23, rising approximately 5% in the last 24 hours. While no comment has been issued from Ripple, industry watchers are closely monitoring the fallout from what may be one of the most unusual cases of political-crypto crossfire to date.
