Administration

Trump says currency swap with UAE under consideration

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by Mallory Wilson - 04/21/26 10:55 AM ET

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by Mallory Wilson - 04/21/26 10:55 AM ET

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President Trump said Tuesday that the United States is weighing a currency swap with the United Arab Emirates amid the war with Iran.

Trump said on CNBC that the UAE had been hit by missiles from Iran amid the war and, when asked if a currency swap was under consideration, he said, “it is.”

“It’s been a good ally of ours,” he said. “And you know, these are unusual times.”

“They were able to shoot down most of them, but they did get hit hard,” he said. “They were hit the hardest of the group, actually.”

He said he was “surprised” that the Emiratis would need financial help because “they are really rich.”

“You know they’re very good for this country,” Mr. Trump said of the UAE. “If I could help them, I would. I mean, we’re helping them much more with what we’re doing with the war.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the UAE asked U.S. officials about a wartime financial lifeline in case the war pushes the country into crisis.

UAE Central Bank Gov. Khaled Mohamed Balama floated the idea of a currency swap with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials in Washington last week.

“If the UAE had a problem, I find it hard to believe, but if they had a problem, we would be there for them,” Trump said.

Trump praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and said he was the one who gave him his “famous line” of the U.S. being the hottest country in the world right now.

“He said, ‘A year and half ago, sir, you were a dead country. Now you’re the hottest country anywhere in the world,’” Trump said. “He said that to me, and it’s true, we were a dead country.”

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