Will the U.S. Have a Presidential Debate? Elon Musk Takes the Helm! Trump Signals Major Moves

Billionaire Elon Musk accepted an invitation from U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday (May 21) to host a presidential debate before the November election. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign team announced they would start accepting cryptocurrency donations.

Musk informed Kennedy that he would host the presidential debate. This comes after U.S. President Biden withdrew from the presidential debate commission, with both he and Trump agreeing on terms to keep Kennedy off the debate stage.

Despite CNN's efforts to assure Trump and Biden that Kennedy would not be present on the debate stage, a new poll shows that 71% of Americans believe Kennedy should be allowed to participate if he qualifies.

In response, Musk told Kennedy, "You should be part of the debate."

Although Musk has not endorsed any candidate yet, he has stated that he is "distancing" himself from Biden.

When Kennedy invited Musk to host the presidential debate, Musk replied, "No problem."

Several U.S. media outlets noted that Trump's presidential campaign team announced on Tuesday that they would start accepting cryptocurrency donations, aiming to build a so-called "crypto army" before election day.

Trump's campaign launched a fundraising page allowing "any donor permitted by federal law to use any crypto assets accepted through the Coinbase exchange to contribute to his political committee."

The announcement promoted Trump's message of being a crypto-friendly candidate, appealing to a core group of young male voters increasingly involved in digital assets.

Trump's campaign is accepting a range of popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin, as well as internet-favorite Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Coin.

Notably, Musk is known to be a fan of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Coin, which trade on the market as DOGE and SHIB.

It remains unclear whether Trump's campaign will hold onto the cryptocurrencies or sell them immediately, and what fees might be incurred in the process. Although the campaign has stated plans to comply with U.S. election laws, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies may make it difficult to verify the sources of funds.

Trump has already raised millions of dollars through his Trump Digital Trading Card NFT project and the MAGA token released in August 2023.

Coinbase spokesperson Julia Krieger told the Associated Press, "Cryptocurrency is nonpartisan and can drive funding forward because it's cheaper and faster. The Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season."

While some states do not allow cryptocurrency donations in state campaigns under current campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission does permit committees to accept Bitcoin as donations.

In a 2014 advisory opinion, the commission concluded that Bitcoin is "money or anything of value" in the legal sense, and political committees should assess the value of donations based on Bitcoin's market value at the time of receipt.

As an independent candidate, Kennedy's presidential campaign currently accepts Bitcoin donations.

In terms of conventional funding, Biden and the Democratic National Committee announced on Monday that they raised over $51 million in April, far less than the $76 million reported by Trump and the Republicans for the same month.