A well-connected lobbyist found himself iced out of MAGA circles after angering president Donald Trump over a crypto scheme.
An employee of the lobby shop run by Brian Ballard, who has ties to several Trump officials, personally pressed the president at a Mar-a-Lago event in early March to promote a "crypto strategic reserve" on his Truth Social account, but he was furious after posting the message to learn that one of their clients stood to benefit from his statement, reported Politico.
“He is not welcome in anything anymore,” Trump told White House associates afterward.
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Ballard's employee asked Trump more than once to post the statement, and even gave him a copy of a message she suggested he could write, and White House "crypto czar" David Sacks called chief of staff Susie Wiles, a former Ballard employee herself, to complain as soon as the post went up.
“[Trump had] been brushing her off — then she kept bothering him and then he finally just gave it to a staffer to put out,” said one of the people familiar with what happened.
Two sources with familiar with the situation said the president felt used, and Ballard has become persona non grata in the White House, where three source say staffers have been instructed not to take meetings with him.
“One way to get yourself in the doghouse is for the president to think you’re trading on his name,” said a close Trump ally.
Ballard has represented the Trump Organization in the past and raised money for the president's campaigns, and he has previously employed Wiles and attorney general Pam Bondi, but the Trump ally said he “overstates his importance and value.”
“The president understands that lobbyists make money — he gets that," that ally said. "But I mean, to go out there and brag and hold yourself out?"
A Ballard associate insists there was never an intent to mislead Trump about the crypto statement, but sources close to the president's inner circle dispute the denials.
“Ballard is making himself out to be this all-powerful Trump lobbyist with unfettered access to the administration, but that’s simply not true,” said one of the four sources.
Ballard issued a statement saying he and his firm were "accustomed to false accusations from unnamed sources due to the success our firm has enjoyed," and he told Politico that he'd never traded on his relationship with West Wing insiders.
“[D]espite the efforts of these unnamed sources, Ballard Partners will continue to deliver results and effective advocacy for our clients as we have done for more than 25 years,” he said.