Trump and the Lobbying Storm: Unveiling the Insider Secrets Behind the Encryption Reserve Post

In early March of this year, Trump posted a message on his social media platform about the "cryptocurrency strategic reserve", and the initial post only mentioned cryptocurrencies such as XRP, SOL, and ADA, causing confusion in the community. The next day, Trump added that the reserves also include BTC and ETH. The inside story of this "oolong incident" has finally surfaced, revealing a lobbying storm involving Trump's inner circle.

The Lobbying Incident at Mar-a-Lago

On a Sunday morning in early March, Trump promoted the "encryption currency strategic reserve" on his social media platform. Hours later, he realized that he might have been used by someone.

On that day, a female employee from a lobbying firm attended a fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago. She repeatedly stopped Trump to lobby him, promoting her views on the development of the gambling industry, and even handed him a pre-prepared tweet template.

After Trump posted a message, he discovered that the company behind a certain encryption cryptocurrency project mentioned in the text, Ripple Labs, is actually a client of a lobbying firm. Anonymous sources familiar with the situation revealed that Trump was furious about this, feeling that he had been used.

He then expressed his position to the White House staff: "From now on, these lobbyists are not to be involved in any matters." Subsequently, this lobbyist, who had close ties to Trump, became an unwelcome figure in the White House.

The Rise and Controversy of Lobbyists

Since Trump returned to Washington, this lobbyist has established significant influence in the political arena. His company has previously employed a White House chief of staff and an attorney general, and his relationship with Trump has spanned decades, having represented the Trump Organization for many years and being a key fundraiser for Trump's presidential campaigns.

With the ability to be seen as a "voice" for Trump, the lobbying firm has gained 130 new clients since the U.S. elections last November, including business giants like Chevron, JPMorgan, Palantir, and Netflix. In the first quarter of 2025, the company's revenue reached $14 million, more than three times that of the same period last year.

However, there is a huge gap between the market reputation of this lobbyist and the White House's actual view of him.

According to three informed sources, after the cryptocurrency post incident, he has been temporarily excluded from the core circle of the White House, and White House staff have been instructed not to meet with him. Several individuals closely associated with Trump have indicated that the White House's dissatisfaction with him stems not only from this incident; some officials believe he is exploiting Trump's reputation for profit, excessively promoting his connections with the president and the chief of staff, while in reality, those connections are not as close as he claims.

An ally of Trump pointed out: "A common practice that annoys Trump is making him feel like you are capitalizing on his reputation." Trump understands that lobbyists need to make money, but the problem lies in this kind of public flaunting and self-aggrandizing behavior.

In response to these accusations, the lobbyist stated in a statement that he and his company "have long been accustomed to false allegations from anonymous sources due to the success achieved by the company." He denied soliciting clients by boasting of connections with White House personnel and also refuted the claim of being marginalized.

There is evidence to suggest that he has not completely severed ties with the White House: the media reviewed the invitation to a Trump fundraising event sent to him after the March incident, as well as records of arranged calls with senior government officials. Additionally, clients he represents still have opportunities to meet with high-level government officials.

Some signs indicate that this situation has indeed caused him business troubles. According to insiders, some clients have reached out to other Trump allies in an attempt to meet with the president or core circle members.

Business Expansion and Political Influence

Since Trump won the election last November, this lobbying firm's new business has seen explosive growth. Its clients have achieved some results during Trump's administration: TikTok, as one of its clients, has benefited from Trump's promise to postpone the enforcement of the ban and is still operating in the U.S.; car manufacturers like BMW will benefit from Trump's recent announcement of a partial tariff delay policy.

One of the early clients of the company in Washington was a giant in the American tobacco industry, which produces the best-selling menthol cigarettes in the United States and placed its bets on Trump in the presidential election. This bet paid off just a few days after the new government took office — Trump withdrew the proposal to ban menthol cigarettes.

The cryptocurrency company mentioned in that controversial post was also a client of the lobbying firm. Notably, the highest financial regulatory agency during the Trump administration has now withdrawn its appeal on a landmark enforcement case against the company.

The Complex Relationship with the White House Chief of Staff

The complexity of the relationship between the lobbyist and the White House partly stems from his past with the current White House Chief of Staff. Many insiders in the Trump administration believe that at a time when the Florida governor was trying to destroy the Chief of Staff's career, the lobbyist pushed him out of his own company.

The chief of staff had worked for the lobbying firm for many years before resigning in 2019 due to health issues. At that time, reports indicated that the governor spread rumors, claiming that he had instructed the lobbying firm to fire her, although both parties stated that this resignation had nothing to do with the governor.

Some people believe that their relationship has since been repaired. According to close sources, during the 2024 campaign, the chief of staff has shown a positive attitude and is unwilling to hold a grudge, especially since lobbyists have injected a large amount of funds into Trump's campaign treasury.

"The chief of staff prioritized the campaign," said a confidant of Trump.

Nevertheless, many of Trump's core circle members remain skeptical of this lobbyist.

"People will not forget the past grievances," said a Trump ally.

The lobbyist emphasized in the statement: "The chief of staff has been, is, and will continue to be my close friend even after we leave the political arena; any statements to the contrary are incorrect."

Details of the Social Post Incident

More details about the "Truth Social" post incident are gradually coming to light. It is understood that over that weekend at Mar-a-Lago, employees from the lobbying firm repeatedly urged Trump to issue a statement.

"Trump initially kept dodging her, but as she continued to press, he eventually just handed it off to an assistant to deal with," a source described.

According to three people familiar with the matter, minutes after the president's announcement, the White House's encryption affairs chief angrily called the chief of staff to complain. At that time, the White House was preparing to hold a cryptocurrency summit in Washington, and the president's practice of singling out certain companies for praise while neglecting others seemed extremely inappropriate.

As the chief of staff was not by the president's side that day, the cryptocurrency head began making calls to understand the situation. Soon after, White House officials realized that one of the clients mentioned in the post was indeed a client of the lobbying firm, and that the post did not even mention Trump's own nascent cryptocurrency company.

Trump later added the names of other encryption companies in a second post, but it was too late, and he was very angry about it.

Trump's aides were equally angry, accusing the lobbying firm of sending employees to have the president promote products for its clients. One senior presidential aide even personally called to reprimand the lobbyist.