In a recent political campaign speech on January 17th, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, former United States President Donald Trump vowed that if elected president, he would twat the effort of Feds to create a United States Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The former president of the US said, “Tonight, I’m making another promise to protect Americans from government tyranny.”
Donald Trump Declares His Promise To Fight Against A US CBDC
Donald Trump, who openly challenged the 2020 US presidential election results, announced his interest in the presidential race in November 2022. The 60th U.S. presidential election will be held on November 5th, 2024.
In his speech at Portsmouth, Donald Trump said, “As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency,” Trump said on stage, joined by crypto-friendly former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently suspended his campaign.
“This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America,” he continued.
“Such a currency would give the federal government absolute control over your money. They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it was gone.”
CBDCs are digital or tokenized versions of cash issued and regulated by central banks that may or may not use blockchain as an underlying technology.
In 2023, former presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made the same pledge on his first day as president to not allow CBDC in the US.
However, Desantis lost to Donald Trump in the primary election held in Iowa on January 15th. Since launching his campaign, the Florida governor has consistently polled behind Trump by more than 10 points.
Vivek Ramaswamy, another contender for the Republican Party nomination who proposed a crypto-focused policy framework, dropped out of the race on January 15th following the Iowa caucus results, finishing with roughly 8% of the vote. He has officially endorsed Trump.
On January 17th, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcer John Reed Stark said the crypto movement could hold the key to the 2024 presidential election.
Every presidential contender should immediately appoint an internal Crypto Czar to serve as that candidate’s crypto-focal point and crypto-spokesperson.”
Trump, once a critic of crypto, owned over $2.5 million in ether, according to an August 2023 disclosure.
While there’s currently no proposal from the Federal Reserve to introduce a CBDC, this hasn’t stopped it from becoming a hot issue in U.S. politics, particularly on the campaign trail.
CBDCs have emerged as one of the hottest issues for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ office, generating more public interest than the usual wedge issues of gun rights and abortion.
