“This is so wasteful,” Trump’s Truth Social post said.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
According the US Mint’s 2024 annual report, making and distributing a one cent coin costs 3.69 cents.
US government officials and members of Congress have in the past proposed discontinuing the penny without success.
While its detractors have argued that the zinc and copper coin is a waste of money and resources, those who support it say that the coin keeps prices lower and boosts fund-raising for charities.
Other countries have discontinued similar coins. Canada ditched its one-cent coin in 2012 citing the cost of minting it and its falling purchasing power due to higher prices.
