According to Politico, an internal turmoil was triggered by a post on Truth Social by Trump mentioning Ripple Labs in a "crypto strategic reserve" context, leading to long-time Trump associate and lobbyist Brian Ballard being "blacklisted" by the White House. The post was reportedly lobbied by Ballard's company employees at Mar-a-Lago for Trump to publish. After learning that Ripple was a client of Ballard, Trump was furious, claiming he was "used," and ordered the White House to refuse any contact with Ballard. Although Ballard denied manipulating the statement, the incident has already impacted his influence within Trump's circle.