Biden, Trump Debate: No Crypto Talk

Despite crypto lobbyists spending millions of dollars for this election cycle, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump did not mention crypto in their 90-minute debate on Thursday

The initial two debates hosted by CNN, which took place on June 27, were centered on the economic policies, abortion rights, immigration, and foreign policy of each presidential candidate.

The article also briefly addressed the mental capabilities of the candidates, with Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, being the eldest candidates to have ever run for president.

Even though a trio of crypto-backed super political action committees (PACs) raised $202.8 million from large industry sponsors and spent $93.6 million to influence the 2024 elections, the crypto sector received no attention.

Millions of dollars are allocated to political expenditures

According to OpenSecrets, Fairshake PAC has raised $177.8 million and spent $70.8 million during the 2024 election cycle. Most of the funds were allocated to financing attack advertisements for congressional candidates.

Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, two other related super PACs, have collectively spent $22.8 million in this year’s elections after raising $25 million.

The three super PACs have collectively raised the third-largest sum of money of any PAC. They can accept donations of any magnitude but cannot directly help with campaigns.

Trump has pledged to terminate Biden’s “war on crypto” if he is elected and has even hosted a meeting with Bitcoin.

Earlier in June, he announced to miners that he desired the cryptocurrency to be “made in America.”

However, certain industry professionals, including Kraken CEO Dave Ripley, assert that Biden is “softening up” regarding cryptocurrency.

According to Mark Cuban, a crypto advocate, the recent wave of enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Gary Gensler, will “literally cost Joe Biden the election.”

The economy, inflation, weak governance, and immigration are the primary concerns of American voters, according to Gallup polls conducted in May, which indicate that crypto is not a top priority.

The independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was publicly pro-crypto, did not satisfy CNN’s eligibility criteria for participation in the debate. He alleged that the network “rigged the rules” and simultaneously hosted an alternative “real debate” on X.

Kennedy reiterated his April assertion that he would employ “AI and blockchain to eliminate waste in government to save more money” during the “debate,” which featured him alone on stage and subjected to queries.

Kennedy is polling at 9.1%, while Trump leads Biden by only 0.2 percentage points in national polling (41.1% to 40.9%), according to a FiveThirtyEight poll conducted on June 27 before the debate.

The second debate between Biden and Trump is scheduled for September 10.

November 5 is the date for the elections of the president and vice president, as well as all 435 House seats and 34 of the 100 Senate seats.