Trump jets to South Carolina as fight for pro-crypto, AI-positive Congress heats up

The biggest name in US politics not on the ballot this election cycle, President Donald Trump, has inserted himself into the conversation as America heads to the polls to choose its next Congress, with crypto and artificial intelligence regulation stakes on the line.

As if Trump’s return to the campaign trail was not enough splash, he is also reportedly coming with his $400 million MAGA Inc. super PAC war chest to join the Republican fight to retain Congress majority.

The biggest financiers of this election cycle have their futures directly tethered to results. The crypto industry needs a Republican majority Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, as well as favorable rulemaking from the SEC and CFTC. 

AI stakeholders, on the other hand, will be looking to shake a growing perception that they have become an albatross for anyone looking to win an election.

Trump is ramping up for mid-term election fight 

Trump’s first stop on the mid-term campaign trail is a Friday rally in Myrtle Beach for Sen. Darline Graham. By difficulty, this one is as close to a layup as any for any Republican on the ballot. 

Graham’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman, would be pulling a huge upset if the deeply red state of South Carolina flips. Darline is the sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who passed away recently. 

One GOP operative told Politico that Trump “probably has the ability to move the needle in Republicans’ favor better than anyone else.” 

As to the question of whether he will, Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie reported that a source confirmed to her that the POTUS will “begin dipping into his massive $400 million personal Super PAC called ‘MAGA Inc’ to help vulnerable Republicans this November… as he gets back on the campaign trail tonight in South Carolina.” 

CNN had reported that Trump has given the green light on million-dollar deployments from his personal PAC to help vulnerable Republican candidates, whose problems have been exacerbated by ballooning prices and the war in Iran.

Republicans have crypto and AI funding support

Crypto, AI, and online betting firms have opened their wallets during this cycle, facilitating a record $517 million in corporate spending, per Public Citizen data cited by Cryptopolitan. 

Most of the $4 million that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each gave this cycle went straight to Trump’s MAGA Inc.

AI-focused super PACs have raised $107 million and spent $55.5 million on federal races, as Cryptopolitan reported,  with Leading the Future, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, assembling a roughly $140 million network. On the other side, the pro-regulation Public First Action has raised $80 million, including $40 million from Anthropic.

Ironically, AI spending might not be enough as data-center backlash is reported to be sinking Sen. Jon Husted in the Ohio Senate race. Around 71% of Americans polled by Gallup this spring said they would rather not have new data centers springing up near their homes.

Whether the Trump card is still good in 2026 will get early signals when the results come in, Graham’s South Carolina runoff tests come due, and Republicans are not in the position to turn down help this cycle, even if the lifelines are coming from divisive corners. 

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