U.S. President Donald Trump is said to have been inadvertently manipulated by a lobbyist linked to Ripple Labs, leading him to announce that the XRP token would be part of the plan to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve.
According to a report on May 8 by Politico, an employee of Brian Ballard — a lobbyist close to Trump — handed the president a draft social media post, suggesting he announce a plan to establish a strategic reserve consisting of XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). Trump posted this on his social media platform on March 2. However, just a few days later, Trump learned that Ripple was a client of Ballard — which made him furious and feel exploited.
"He is no longer welcome in anything," Trump said about Ballard, according to Politico sources.
In fact, the connection between Ripple and Trump began before XRP was mentioned in the reserve plan. Ripple's legal director, Stuart Alderoty, previously donated over $300,000 to political action committees and fundraising efforts supporting Trump in the 2024 election campaign. Both Alderoty and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse met Trump after he was elected and attended inauguration events.
Ripple also donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump's presidential inauguration fund and is one of the largest donors of Fairshake — a PAC (political action committee) that supports crypto-friendly candidates through media campaigns. A spokesman for Fairshake confirmed in January that the PAC would continue to support the 2026 midterm elections.
Just four days after the controversial post, on March 6, Trump signed an executive order to establish the "Digital Asset Reserve" of the United States. He often uses his personal social media platform to outline policy ideas before officially announcing them through the White House.
The price of XRP did not react strongly after Politico's report, remaining at around $2.3 at the time of publication, up about 5% in the previous 24 hours.