Of course it applies.
To say it doesn't is an elitist view.
The subject is "a stronger dollar", isn't it?.
If the dollar will buy more rubles or drachmas but less bacon and bread you might consider it stronger but people shopping for food instead of rubles wouldn't.
For your chart to show ‘stronger’ it would mean deflation. That’s not a good thing. The slow inflation we’ve had the last 20 years has been a mostly good thing. I know they are intentionally leaving out some sectors to make it look better. However, a ‘strong dollar’ in the currency market just means it’s trending stronger against other currencies. Not itself.