NASHVILLE — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a warm welcome Friday as he courted voters at the Bitcoin Conference, the cryptocurrency industry’s prime event — the day before former President Donald Trump gives the keynote address.
“I will end the Biden administration’s war on Bitcoin,” the former Democratic candidate declared. He earned more cheers from the crowd when he pitched policies: He wants America to build a Bitcoin reserve and make transactions involving the US dollar and Bitcoin non-reportable and not subject to Internal Revenue Service taxes.
Kennedy also took aim at Trump — while he likes the Republican presidential candidate’s current stance on Bitcoin, he notes Trump hasn’t always been supportive and says he’s only “a few weeks into the Bitcoin dialogue.” Kennedy noted he’s invested a good portion of his own personal wealth in cryptocurrency.
Trump is addressing the conference Sunday afternoon and has been talking about the subject for more than “a few weeks”: He met with crypto miners in June and declared himself the “crypto candidate” in May, after dubbing the currency a “scam” in 2021.
“Americans today are being forced to make gut-wrenching decisions because money is broken,” RFK Jr. said. “To the beleaguered American middle class, Bitcoin is off-ramp of the inflation highway of doom.”
Just hours before his speech, rumors circulated online that Kennedy was about to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. The pair talked following the assassination attempt on Trump this month,
“FAKE NEWS,” Kennedy replied to one of the stories.
FAKE NEWS https://t.co/lMt45VEQeB
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 26, 2024
Many voters at the conference back Trump or Kennedy — with almost no one even mentioning presumptive Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Harris is not speaking at the industry’s big event, but businessman Mark Cuban said her campaign has reached out to him to learn more about the topic.
“This man represents the things that I want, so I’m going to vote for him. And you know what? If my grandkids have to look at my record someday, so be it. They’ll see I voted for the person I wanted that represented the things that I hope that we can have,” Kim Papst, a Kennedy supporter in the swing state of Michigan, told The Post after his address.
David Garrett, a retired chemical engineer and also a Michigan voter, said he likes what Kennedy proposed Saturday.
“I’m a Trump supporter, but I think his speech I could have given myself. That’s incredible. His policies are setting the ground rules for all the other politicians, including Trump. They better be listening very, very carefully,” Garrett said.
He’s not the only Kennedy fan likely to check the ballot for the Republican nominee.
“I mean, I like Kennedy, but I’m more leaning towards Trump. Because Texas, red state and everything, but I do like Kennedy and a lot that he’s doing,” Dylan Branscum of Texas, 17, who will be 18 in November, said while wearing a pro-Kennedy hat Thursday, a day before the independent candidate’s speech.
“Inflation is ruining the dollar. I believe if Trump gets in office, he’ll slow it down, but it’s not gonna stop. But Bitcoin inflation doesn’t really happen,” he added.
GOP Sens. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming) and Tim Scott (South Carolina) also discussed the future of Bitcoin Friday in confeence addresses.
“If government controls the money, they control us,” Lummis declared to applause.
Cryptocurrency means “having a chance to democratize our financial footprint,” Scott said.
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