Donald Trump dismisses dollar’s decline to 4-year low: “Doing great”

President Donald Trump has brushed off the U.S. dollar’s recent slide to a four-year low, insisting that the currency is “doing great,” even as experts warn economic and political uncertainty is fueling this decline.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Dollar Index—a gauge measured against a basket of foreign currencies—hit its lowest level since February 2022. It was trading at around 96.2 as of Wednesday morning, below the 1973 baseline of 100.

But when asked about the currency extending its losses on Tuesday evening, the president said: “I think it’s great.”

“The value of the dollar—look at the business we’re doing,” he told reporters in Iowa. “No, the dollar’s doing great.”

Why It Matters

The value of any fiat currency, though shaped by multiple factors, is broadly linked to supply, as well as global assessments of the issuing country. Sustained weakness can have carry significant implications for an economy, including reshaping trade flows, raising import costs and fueling inflation, while also boosting the appeal of “safer” assets such as gold.

Some officials within the administration are professed weak-dollar advocates, given this can provide a boon to exports while stimulating growth for certain sectors. These include Trump’s economic adviser-turned Fed Governor Stephen Miran and Vice President JD Vance, who have in the past questioned the benefits of its relative strength as well as its status as the world’s premier reserve currency.

And while Trump’s comments on Tuesday did not make clear whether he was unshaken by its decline—or supported the dollar falling even further—he has in the past echoed some of these arguments while downplaying the risks associated with currency weakness.

What To Know

The greenback has gone through a sustained slump over the first weeks of 2025, which experts have attributed to geopolitical upheaval, a reduced appetite for dollar assets like U.S. Treasurys, and a broader deterioration in perceptions of the American economy as a force of global stability.

Michael Connolly, professor of economics at the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School, told Newsweek that growing deficits and continued inflation had eroded international confidence in the currency, “particularly as a store of value and safe haven.”

Tensions over Greenland and sovereign sales of U.S. Treasurys—by China in particular—were also cited as contributing factors, though Connolly added that the dollar nevertheless remains the “main game in town as a unit of account and global medium of exchange.”

“In the last few weeks, and especially in the discussion regarding Greenland, the U.S. has signaled a willingness to abandon the geopolitical and economic world order that it has anchored since WW II,” said Ryan Chahrour, Ernest S. Liu professor of economics and international studies at Cornell University. “The fall in the U.S. dollar and increase in gold prices since January 16 are most likely a consequence of this.”

And its further slide comes in the wake of both Trump’s comments—a contributing factor, according to some experts—as well as his decision to levy a 25 percent tariff on South Korean imports. In a Truth Social post on Monday evening, the president said the U.S. would raise tariffs on several of the country’s exports from the current, 15 percent rate, citing Korea’s failure to secure legislative approval for a trade framework signed with the U.S. last year.

Meanwhile, gold, the value of which typically moves in an inverse relationship to the currency, continued to push past the $5,000-per-ounce milestone it broke over the weekend. The precious metal has climbed to nearly $5,300 as of Wednesday morning, and its recent surge has likewise been attributed to recent geopolitical tensions and what one expert called the “new world disorder” that is unfolding.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said: “I think it’s great. I mean, the value of the dollar—look at the business we’re doing. No, the dollar’s doing great.”

Economist Barry Eichengreen told Newsweek: “I would point to high economic policy uncertainty in the United States which has led foreign investors to trim their holdings of U.S. Treasurys, and to Trump’s threats to the independence of the Fed.”

What Happens Next

As well as recent developments in the U.S. and abroad, some have partially blamed the dollar’s weakness on investors adjusting their positions ahead of the Federal Reserve’s imminent interest rate decision. The central bank is currently holding its first policy meeting of the year, and is widely expected to leave rates unchanged when this decision is announced on Wednesday afternoon.

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