Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday called traditional banking a “Ponzi scheme” that effectively forced the Trump family to start its crypto venture World Liberty Financial after banks closed the family company’s accounts in early 2021.
“You know, we didn’t get into crypto because we were on the leading edge,” Trump Jr. told CNBC’s Sara Eisen on “Squawk on the Street” during an interview Wednesday at the World Liberty Forum.
“We got into it out of necessity,” Trump Jr. said at the event that is being held at the Mar-a-Lago club owned by his father, President Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, Fla. “They basically forced us into it.”
He and his younger brother Eric Trump blamed traditional banks for booting the Trump Organization’s hundreds of bank accounts on the heels of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, during which supporters of his father stormed the U.S. Capitol while claiming the 2020 election results were invalid.
The brothers said banks also had “debanked” other, smaller clients because of their conservative politics.
