A prominent lobbyist who had enraged President Donald Trump over a cryptocurrency scam was kicked out of MAGA circles. At a Mar-a-Lago event in early March, a lobby shop employee of Brian Ballard, who has connections to a number of Trump officials, personally pressured the president to advertise a “crypto strategic reserve” on his Truth Social account. However, after posting the message, he was incensed to discover that one of their clients stood to gain from his remarks, Politico reported.
“He is no longer welcome in anything,” Trump later told White House colleagues.
Trump was repeatedly urged to publish the remark by Ballard’s employee, who even provided him with a draft of a message she recommended he write. As soon as the post was made public, White House “crypto czar” David Sacks phoned chief of staff Susie Wiles, a former Ballard employee, to voice her displeasure.
One of the persons with knowledge of the situation stated, “[Trump] had been brushing her off — then she kept bothering him and then he finally just gave it to a staffer to put out.”
The president felt taken advantage of, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, and Ballard has become a persona non grata at the White House, where three people claim that aides have been told not to meet with him. A close Trump friend stated,
“The president believing you’re trading on his name is one way to get yourself in the doghouse.”
The Trump ally said that Ballard “overstates his importance and value.” Ballard had previously worked for Wiles and attorney general Pam Bondi, as well as represented the Trump Organization and raised funds for the president’s campaigns. That ally said that the president is aware that lobbyists earn money.
“But I mean, to go out there and brag and hold yourself out?”
Although individuals close to Trump’s inner circle contest the denials, a Ballard associate maintains that there was never any intention to deceive him on the crypto statement. One of the four people stated, “Ballard is portraying himself as this all-powerful Trump lobbyist with unrestricted access to the administration, but that’s just not true.”
Ballard told Politico that he had never sold on his connection to West Wing officials and that he and his company were “accustomed to false accusations from unnamed sources due to the success our firm has enjoyed.”
“Ballard Partners will continue to deliver results and effective advocacy for our clients as we have done for more than 25 years, despite the efforts of these unnamed sources,”
he stated.
