Please Stop Pretending that Donald Trump’s Every Utterance Has Magic Powers

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Yesterday Donald Trump said he thought the dollar was “too strong.” Today the Wall Street Journal goes into overdrive to describe the effect of the great man’s words:

Trump Comments Send Dollar Reeling

Reeling! Is that true? Well, the Journal’s own dollar index fell about 1 percent, and sure, that’s a fair amount for a single day. But let’s take a look at the Journal’s index for the entire period since Trump’s election:

Hmmm. The dollar steadily gained strength following Trump’s election based on expectations of his economic and trade policy. Then it started sliding around the start of the new year. Its latest 1 percent drop is hardly significant: it’s dropped that much in a single day before, and it’s still up significantly since Trump’s election. And in case you’re curious, here’s a longer-term view:

So did Trump’s words have a galvanizing effect on the world’s currency traders? It’s possible, but we might want to wait a few days before we say so. There are other things going on in the world too, after all.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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