Trump Flip-Flops on Calling China a ‘Currency Manipulator‘

President Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. dollar is “getting too strong” and contradicted his campaign-era self on whether or not China should be labeled a currency manipulator. “I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me. But that’s hurting—that will hurt ultimately,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal. “Look, there’s some very good things about a strong dollar, but... it’s very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump often insisted China should be labeled a “currency manipulator,” and he criticized President Obama, as far back as 2011, for not doing so. However, the president told the Journal on Wednesday, “They’re not currency manipulators.” According to the paper, “Mr. Trump said the reason he has changed his mind on one of his signature campaign promises is that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months and because taking the step now could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat of North Korea.” The president additionally contradicted himself on Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, telling the Journal that he likes her low-interest policy and could reappoint her—a shift from his previous position that she was a “political” actor purely “doing what Obama asked her.”