WASHINGTON President Donald Trump was confused about the dollar: Was it a strong one thats good for the economy? Or a weak one?

So he made a call except not to any of the business leaders Trump brought into his administration or even to an old friend from his days in real estate. Instead, he called his national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, according to two sources familiar with Flynns accounts of the incident.

Flynn has a long record in counterintelligence but not in macroeconomics. And he told Trump he didnt know, that it wasnt his area of expertise, that, perhaps, Trump should ask an economist instead.

Trump was not thrilled with that response but that may have been a function of the time of day. Trump had placed the call at 3 a.m., according to one of Flynns retellings although neither the White House nor Flynns office responded to requests for confirmation about that detail.