Trump Says He's Not Concerned with Decline of US Dollar

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-not-concerned-decline-205831235.html

by thomassmith65 • 6 months ago

36 15 6 months ago

finance.yahoo.com

I’ve been hearing this type of talk from dedicated pro Trump friends. I don’t quite understand their logic, but it is something like having the Dollar crash so the federal reserve goes away. But I don’t get what the goal is. If the Dollar crashes, America would permanently lose its unique position with being the controller of the global reserve currency. And the American citizens who hold US Dollars will be a lot poorer. I’m not even sure the recent shifts in USD have actually reflected the true risks of the national debt, so it could fall a lot more than where it is presently.

Is there actually some strategy here? Or is it just that Trump doesn’t care because his family is getting so much richer that changes in the Dollar’s value don’t matter to them?

Avshalom• 6 months ago

Trump doesn't care because he has no fucking idea how anything works (cf tariffs).

vdupras• 6 months ago

Whatever Trump's strategy is, it's not for the benefit of the US, but of some group, the same one who got all the insider trading hints on this roller coaster.

But today's USD decline? Brutal. It almost makes me want to say, "it's happening!".

toomuchtodo3• 6 months ago

But today's USD decline? Brutal. It almost makes me want to say, "it's happening!".

I agree we're close, but we're not quite there yet. The bond market is punishing sovereign debt (Japan bond crisis), and there is evidence that billions of dollars of capital is willing to leave US treasuries to find something better. Gold and silver are up wildly; some may say overbought, but I think that only applies in the before times. This will, imho, continue as capital seeks venues of prudent economic management (which, arguably, the US, USD, and UST are no longer). The dollar lost 8% of its value last year, I expect that pace to continue, if not worsen.

https://economics.td.com/us-the-united-states-dollar-in-2025

(not investing advice, i am a rando)

thomassmith654• 6 months ago

I fully believe many of Trump's tariff announcements were for the benefit of insiders.

I don't know about this dollar plunge being intentional, though. This one feels more like a massive screw up caused by the administration convincing each other that Europe and the 'middle powers' are completely powerless.

amrikiio• 6 months ago

They may claim they are not concerned.

But are they genuinely not concerned? They have a huge advantage to lie, or else it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. People tend to lie.

thomassmith654• 6 months ago

I'm unfavorably inclined toward Trump and interpret it as "actually, I meant to do that"

The charitable version is based on the fact that if your dollar falls then the things you export to other nations suddenly become cheaper for them. It's like natural tariffs: imports to the USA become unaffordable; exports from the USA become a bargain to other nations.

JohnFen2• 6 months ago

That "charitable version" is the same explanation Trump has been giving from through his first term as well. He's long been in favor of a weak dollar.

cosmicgadget• 6 months ago

The best explanation I have heard is that a weak dollar means the US exports more and when you're a super smart business man you try to sell more stuff.

taylodl• 6 months ago

Trump also says he wants the Fed to lower interest rates. Someone needs to explain to Trump that he therefore actually cares about the decline of the US dollar.

toomuchtodo3• 6 months ago

Bond market controls interest rates, not the Fed. Can't fool or pressure the bond market.

The bond market keeps the score - https://www.axios.com/2026/01/22/trump-tariffs-bond-market-f... | https://archive.today/FIvDs - January 22nd, 2026

https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/da... ("The Fed doesn't really set interest rates," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in Davos.)

(“I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the President or the Pope or as a 400 basball hitter. But now I would like to come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.” — James Carville; global bond market is ~$145 trillion)

Trump Says He's Not Concerned with Decline of US Dollar

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