Trump Always Chickens Out
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Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO), also known as the TACO Trade, is an acronym that gained prominence in May 2025 after many threats and reversals during the trade war Donald Trump initiated with his administration's "Liberation Day" tariffs.[1] The acronym is used to describe Trump's tendency to make tariff threats, only to later delay them as a way to increase time for negotiations and for markets to rebound.[1][2]
Origins
[edit]The term was first used by Financial Times journalist Robert Armstrong in a May 2, 2025 opinion piece that discussed tariffs and their effects on the US markets.[3] In the piece, part of a series titled "Unhedged", Armstrong said that markets were realizing that "the US administration does not have a very high tolerance for market and economic pressure, and will be quick to back off when tariffs cause pain". Armstrong called this "the Taco theory: Trump Always Chickens Out".[4][5]
Reactions
[edit]Donald Trump was asked what he thought about the term on May 28, 2025 during a swearing-in ceremony for the acting attorney general. He denied the behavior, saying "it's called negotiation". He called the question a "nasty question", adding "I usually have the opposite problem. They say I am too tough".[3][6]
Almost immediately after Trump's response the term started a trend of memes about Trump referencing the TACO acronym or the phrase directly. The memes often employed generative AI to produce artificial images and video of Trump in situations parodying the viral term.[7][8]
The View hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Ana Navarro praised the TACO phrase on their show.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Breuninger, Kevin (May 28, 2025). "Trump says he's not 'chickening out' on trade: 'It's called negotiation'". CNBC. NBC News. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ^ Bigg, Matthew (May 29, 2025). "Asked About 'TACO' and Tariffs, Trump Lashes Out at Reporter". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ a b Picchi, Aimee (May 28, 2025). "Trump was asked about the "TACO" trade and called it a "nasty question." Here's what it means". CBSNews. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ^ Armstrong, Robert (May 2, 2025). "The US market's surprise comeback". FT.com. Financial Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ^ Moyer, Janet H. Cho|Liz (May 28, 2025). "TACO Trade: What It Is and What It Means for Stocks". barrons. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ Tomazin, Farrah (May 28, 2025). "Trump Melts Down at 'Why Do You Always Chicken Out' Question". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ^ "Tacos with Trump's face, chickens on his head: Internet explodes with memes on 'Trump Always Chickens Out'". The Economic Times. May 29, 2025. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ McFall, Marni (May 29, 2025). "TACO Trump Memes Explode Across Internet as President Mocked Over Tariffs". Newsweek. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ Bell, Amanda (May 29, 2025). "'The View' Hosts Get Giddy Over Elon Musk Exit & Trump 'TACO' Nickname". TVInsider. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
