On July 13 local time, U.S. President Trump posted: "The U.S. Senate should pass the CLARITY Act—Clarifying Digital Asset Markets Act—in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, who strongly supported this bill. China and many other nations are eager to fully dominate this major financial 'event,' as well as the field of artificial intelligence (AI), where we currently lead while they struggle to catch up. Don’t let China win on any issue!!!"
Trump’s post ties the push for the CLARITY Act to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who tragically passed away on July 11 due to aortic dissection, claiming it is an act of "honoring" his ally who "strongly supported" the bill. However, in reality, Graham was not a key negotiator of the legislation—he is not even on the Senate Banking Committee, and he did not vote on any of the recent measures advancing the bill this year. Trump’s move leverages the late senator’s reputation to generate political urgency and forcibly pressure the bill through Congress.
The core logic behind Trump’s post is "we cannot allow China to win." He positions both cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence (AI) as two critical domains where the United States must maintain global leadership.
The Trump administration believes the U.S. currently leads in AI but faces fierce competition from China.
Trump frames cryptocurrencies as a "major financial event," warning that if Congress fails to act, China and other countries will seize full control of this domain.
This rhetoric reflects a prevailing strategic consensus in the U.S.: elevating domestic financial regulation and technology legislation to the national security level of "great power competition."
Currently, Democrats are refusing to support the bill, with their core objection pointing directly to Trump’s own conflict of interest.
Latest financial disclosures show that Trump and his family earned over $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency-related business ventures in 2025.
Democratic senators have strongly demanded that the bill include strict ethical provisions prohibiting the president, vice president, senior officials, and their families from profiting from the crypto industry.
Trump’s post, ostensibly a tribute to a deceased colleague and a strategic warning to China, in fact serves as a desperate attempt by the Republican Party—now facing shrinking seats and a bill in danger of failure—to mask the massive conflict of interest involving his family’s vast gains in the crypto sector, using the grand narrative of "great power competition" to pressure the Senate. Yet as prediction markets have significantly downgraded the likelihood of the bill passing this year, this legislative race, now entangled in political cycles, is becoming increasingly difficult.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870652337848332/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of its author.