Rachel Maddow didn’t mince words in blasting President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, which creates a “strategic reserve” of cryptocurrency. On MSNBC Thursday night, Maddow called the move a “deeply, deeply old-fashioned simple scam” and said it was a blatant attempt to exploit a trend for personal or political gain.
“The White House is behind this, and it’s a scam,” Maddow said, clearly angered by the announcement.
Trump’s executive order gives the federal government the power to stockpile cryptocurrency seized by law enforcement, creating a reserve of these volatile digital assets. Maddow didn’t hold back, comparing the move to the ridiculous Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s — when collectors speculated on overpriced stuffed animals.
“Imagine if Trump had just announced that the U.S. government was going to buy up tons of Beanie Babies,” Maddow said, mocking the absurdity. “We are going to establish a federal reserve of billions of Beanie Babies. What would happen to their value? It would skyrocket, right? That’s exactly what this is.”
Maddow tore into Trump’s executive order, likening it to the wild speculation that inflated Beanie Baby prices during their brief but intense popularity. Back then, people bought these stuffed animals hoping they’d be worth something in the future, even though they had no real value.
“Cryptocurrencies are just like that,” Maddow said. “They have no real value. The only value they have is based on the hope that someone else might want to buy them from you later on. It’s pure speculation.”
She went on to explain how the entire cryptocurrency market runs on this dangerous idea. Just like the Beanie Baby bubble, people are buying crypto not because it’s useful or has real worth, but because they believe they can sell it for more money down the line.
“The only way to make money in this is to convince others that your crypto is going to have value in the future,” Maddow said. “It’s all about getting people to believe it’s popular, just like with Beanie Babies.”
Maddow wrapped up by warning viewers that this executive order is nothing but a money grab masked as a government strategy. “It’s an old scam with a new twist,” she said, criticizing the White House for feeding into a market that’s built entirely on hype.
Trump’s move comes just days before a White House crypto summit, but Maddow’s clear message is that the whole thing is a dangerous gamble.
You can watch the full segment in the video below from MSNBC.
