$TRUMP

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Trump vs. XRP: Crypto Drama Hits the White House!

Here’s what happened:

Former President Trump got really angry after finding out he was tricked into supporting XRP (a cryptocurrency) as part of a plan for a U.S. digital currency reserve. The idea came from a lobbyist connected to Ripple, the company behind XRP.

The twist:

On March 2, Trump publicly supported XRP, along with Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL), for use in a possible national crypto reserve. But it turns out that this idea originally came from Brian Ballard’s lobbying team—people with ties to Ripple.

Trump’s reaction:

He was furious. Insiders say he called Ballard “persona non grata” (which means he’s no longer welcome) and felt like he’d been tricked into backing a crypto plan without knowing the full story.

Follow the money:

Ripple had donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s 2017 inauguration and still supports crypto-friendly political groups like Fairshake.

What’s next:

Even with all the drama, Trump still signed an executive order on March 6 to begin setting up the U.S. Digital Asset Reserve.