NASHVILLE — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got a warm welcome Friday as he courted voters at the Bitcoin Conference, the cryptocurrency industry’s premier event — a day ahead of former President Donald Trump’s keynote address.
The former Democratic candidate declared, “I will end the Biden administration’s war on bitcoin.” He received more applause from the crowd when he spoke of policies he would like to pursue: He wants the U.S. to create a bitcoin reserve and make transactions involving U.S. dollars 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 said Trump hasn’t always been a supporter and said it’s only been a few weeks since he started talking about bitcoin. Kennedy said he has invested a large portion of his personal wealth in cryptocurrencies.
Trump is addressing the convention on Sunday afternoon and has been talking about the topic for more than “a few weeks”: He met with crypto miners in June and declared himself a “crypto candidate” in May after labelling the currency a “scam” in 2021.
“Today, Americans are being forced to make heartbreaking decisions because money is scarce,” said RFK Jr. “For the distressed American middle class, bitcoin is a path down the inflationary highway of destruction.”
Hours before his speech, rumors spread online that Kennedy was about to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. The two spoke after the deadly attack on Trump this month,
“Fake news,” Kennedy said in response to a story.
Many voters at the convention supported either Trump or Kennedy — almost none even mentioned presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Harris is not speaking at the major industry 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 grandchildren have to look at my record someday, so be it. They’ll see that I voted for the person that I wanted and who represents the things that I hope 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 Michigan voter, said he liked the proposal Kennedy made Saturday.
“I’m a Trump supporter, but I feel like I could have given his speech myself. It’s incredible. His policies are setting the ground rules for every other politician, including Trump. They should listen very, very carefully,” Garrett said.
He’s not the only Kennedy fan who will be scrutinizing the ballot for the Republican nominee.
“I mean, I like Kennedy, but I’m leaning more toward Trump. Because Texas, red state and everything, but I like Kennedy and a lot of the things he’s doing,” Dylan Branscum, a 17-year-old from Texas who will turn 18 in November, said Thursday while wearing a pro-Kennedy hat, a day before the independent candidate’s speech.
He said, “Inflation is ruining the dollar. I believe if Trump comes to power, he will slow it down, but it is not going to stop it. But bitcoin inflation doesn’t really happen.”
GOP Senators Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming) and Tim Scott (South Carolina) also discussed the future of bitcoin in convention addresses on Friday.
“If the government controls money, it controls us,” Lummis declared to thunderous applause.
Cryptocurrencies mean “a chance to democratize our financial footprint,” Scott said.
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