Trump Doubles Down on His Pro-Crypto Stance, Saying the US Must Lead in Digital Asset Innovation or Risk Falling Behind China

Former President Donald Trump has once again voiced his pro-crypto stance, highlighting the role of digital assets in the US financial landscape and the potential threat of China in this domain.

In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump was asked how he responds to people who express concern about the possibility of him profoning from the presidency.

“I want crypto,” Trump replied.

The president was asked how he responds to people who express concern about the possibility of him profiting from the presidency.

“I think crypto is important because if we don’t do it, China is going to do it,” Trump said. “It’s new. It’s very popular. It’s very hot. And crypto stayed much stronger than other aspects of the market when the market went down.”

Trump added that crypto is too important to ignore and that it has been widely adopted. He also accused the Biden administration of initially cracking down on crypto before later softening its stance as part of a political strategy.

“They went very strong on crypto and then they went weaker because they’re getting clobbered in the polls,” Trump said.

Pressed on whether he stands to profit from the Official Trump token (TRUMP), the president said he is “not profoning from anything” and pointed out that his backing of crypto began long before his presidential campaign.

“I haven’t even looked,” Trump said. “I’m not profoning from anything. I’m the one who’s paying. I’ve been talking about crypto for a year and a half. I used to have it in my rallies. I’ve had it in my statements. I like crypto. I want to be in crypto. But I haven’t had the time.

“If I own stock in something, and I do a good job, and the stock market goes up, I guess I’m profoning.”

Earlier this year, Trump announced that he would be donating his entire presidential salary to a government initiative. When asked whether he would also be contributing any of his crypto earnings, Trump said he had never considered it.

“Should I contribute all of my real estate that I’ve owned for many years if it goes up a little bit because I’m president and doing a good job. I don’t think so,” Trump said. “I’m going to be making a contribution every quarter. I’m going to be putting my salary in. I’ve been putting it in.”

The president added that he plans to continue contributing his salary during his current term.

The TRUMP token, which once reached a market capitalization of nearly $15 billion, has seen a significant decline following President Trump’s inauguration. At the time of writing, its market cap stands at approximately $2 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.