FIRST ON FOX – A powerful new ad campaign by Americans for Free Markets (AFFM) praises President Donald Trump for cracking down on “debanking,” a controversial financial practice that critics say has been politically weaponized.
The seven-figure campaign will run beginning this weekend during major college football and NFL games on both broadcast and cable, and throughout the next week on cable news, along with other digital media platforms. Trump, who signed an executive order outlawing debanking, is lauded in the ad.
“Under [Presidents] Obama and Biden, government regulators pressured banks to cut services for anyone they didn’t like. Their debanking agenda trampled on the freedom of American individuals and businesses and weaponized government to advance the left’s political agenda. But now, we have President Trump in the White House,” the narrator says.
BANK EXECUTIVES BLOW WHISTLE ON HOW OBAMA, BIDEN ADMINS PRESSURED THEM TO DEBANK CONSERVATIVES
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, Congress and the administration can shut the door on government-driven debanking once and for all,” the narrator continues. “Protect free markets and the liberties of the American people. Prevent regulatory overreach in America’s financial system.”
The campaign, which focuses on the importance of holding unelected federal bureaucrats accountable for their role in politicizing financial regulation, also features Trump’s own words.
“I’ve been a victim myself, because of my politics,” Trump says in the ad.
RED STATE OFFICIAL RECOUNTS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING ‘DEBANKED’ AND WHY IT ‘HAS TO BE STOPPED’
Debanking refers to the practice of banks closing accounts or denying services to individuals or businesses, often with no explanation. The practice originated as part of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. An entity can be debanked after its transactions are marked suspicious, but in recent years, conservative and religious groups have accused banks of discriminating against them for their beliefs.
Last month, Fox News Digital spoke with two executives at leading U.S. banks, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing reprisals.
The executives said that ambiguity in federal laws was exploited by regulators under the Obama and Biden administrations in order to pursue political objectives. According to one executive, banks were pressured to deny services to certain industries as part of Operation Choke Point and Operation Choke Point 2.0.
HERE’S WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DEBANKING, THE UN-AMERICAN ABUSE OF POWER BY REGULATORS
Trump ended “Operation Choke Point” in 2017 during his first term. However, a House Financial Services Committee hearing last month heard accusations that former President Joe Biden had rebooted the initiative and targeted crypto firms for debanking as part of “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”
AFFM bills itself as “a coalition of groups in support of free markets and economic growth” that “recognizes that a strong banking and financial system, free from governmental interference and political motives, is the backbone of a robust free market and a prosperous, thriving economy; critical to our national security; and instrumental in advancing American competitiveness around the world.”
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