This Thought Experiment About Donald Trump That Has People Riled Up, And I Want To Know What You Think
U.S. President Donald Trump was seen gesturing during an event in the White House’s East Room on March 20, 2025, where he signed an executive order to shut down the Department of Education. The moment was captured by Reuters photographer Nathan Howard.
Meanwhile, financial experts are noticing a troubling trend investors are pulling away from the U.S. dollar. David J. Lynch, a financial reporter for The Washington Post, explains that since Trump took office, the dollar has lost almost 10% of its value. A significant part of that drop happened just in the past month as Trump moved forward with his tariff plans.
A weaker dollar means different things for different people. For Americans traveling overseas, it’s bad news because their money doesn’t go as far. It could also drive up inflation by making imported goods more expensive. On the other hand, U.S. exporters might benefit since their products become cheaper for foreign buyers.
Normally, when a country imposes tariffs, its currency gets stronger. But in this case, Lynch says Trump’s approach has been so messy that investors are questioning whether the administration knows what it’s doing.
David Page, a top researcher at Axa Investment Managers in London, oversees $1 trillion in investments. He told Lynch that the Trump administration’s unpredictable policies and lack of clear reasoning have made financial markets nervous. “This doesn’t look like the kind of careful, well-planned policy we’re used to seeing,” he said.
Because of these concerns, investors are quickly moving their money out of U.S. stocks and the dollar. Usually, in times of uncertainty, people flock to ultra-safe U.S. Treasury bonds, which drives their prices up and their yields (the return investors get) down. But last Friday, something unusual happened—the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds jumped to nearly 5%, up from 4.4% just a week earlier. At the same time, the dollar kept falling.
Some economic experts are now warning that Trump’s tariffs could slow down the U.S. economy so much that it might even slide into a recession. USA Today reported that if this happens, stock prices could drop, and the Federal Reserve might have to cut interest rates to try to stabilize things.
Lynch concludes that with all this uncertainty, holding dollars is becoming a much riskier bet and many investors are deciding it’s just not worth it.
