On 2 May, Financial Times writer Robert Armstrong used the term TACO in an article, defining it as “Trump Always Chickens Out.” He was referring to Trump’s tariffs − Trump’s predilection for threatening huge punitive actions and then backpedalling soon after.
On 28 May, CNBC’s Megan Cassella asked Trump about it at a press conference. She had obviously carefully prepared the question.
“Mr President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the ‘Taco trade.’ They’re saying ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ on your tariff threats. And that’s why markets are higher this week. What’s your response to that?”
The president was visibly angry. He apparently was not aware of this new slight and got pretty hot under the collar, his ire directed both at the reporter and her employer, as well as his advisors, who (unsurprisingly) had chosen not to tell him about this acro-meme. He called it the “nastiest question” and moved on.
There are a number of interesting matters here. Trump is famously unable to take criticism with much grace, which the reporter certainly would have known. It was designed to get a reaction, which it did. I leave the question of journalistic integrity to someone else, but it sure sounded like pointless goading to me. Not only did she get the intended reaction, but she also got the word TACO onto the viral rocket − it spread immediately, accompanied by graphic memes like the one accompanying this article. Quite immature, but quite funny, one must admit. Even Stephen King got on board, posting humorously about TACO to 1.5 million readers.
What about the substance of the slight? Is it true that Trump is a blusterer, a chicken, a bark-without-bite? Here we get into a more nuanced arena. Consider a child. You, perhaps. And a threat from your father to withhold a longed-for Christmas present if you ever repeat whatever dastardly thing you have done (I have made this threat myself). It works. Until it doesn’t and the naughty behaviour is repeated, and the Christmas gift is given anyway. That entire strategy is unclothed and can never work again.
Scary for a while
Trump’s strategy of levying huge levies against friends and foes was scary for a while. Until the markets tanked and people whispered in his ear about supply chains and inflation and votes. After which he stepped back to more reasonable positions.
The problem is obvious. No one will believe his threats anymore, at least in the trade domain. His tariff antics now look a little paper-tigerish (although one wonders if he will step back from his announcement of a 50% steel tariff on the EU in the past few days, just to prove a point). He claimed that this was a negotiation strategy − go large, get them to the table, retreat a little, and declare a win. Yeah, but if you reveal your strategy, now patently obvious to everyone, it no longer has any true value. Indeed, the administration has boasted of over 70 countries begging for a trade deal. So far he has signed… one (the UK). Moreover, China just laughed in his face.
This is not to say he hasn’t carried through in some domains. Harvard is one. He threatened them and then hit them hard. But there are few votes at stake there. He threatened fire and brimstone on illegal aliens and then delivered. Sadly, he swept up a few legal ones too, and now there is trouble in the courts (a subject for another day).
These “threaten and deliver” actions colour Trump a little differently. While some may claim that his tariff strategy has lost its sting, his actions in other arenas make him, if nothing else, an unreliable, unpredictable foe. Trump’s entire approach is transactional − everything is a negotiable deal, and if you cannot read your opponent, then you lose. Perhaps one day Trump’s mercurial and incomprehensible zigzagging and position-changing will be looked upon as genius statesmanship.
Matter of conjecture
Whether Trump ends up being written up as a case study of success or failure is still a matter of conjecture − it is early days, and he probably has until November 2026 to make his mark. Those are the midterms, and it is increasingly likely he will lose his grip on one or both houses of governance where the GOP has slim majorities. Midterms are generally brutal for ruling parties; it is unlikely to be different this time around.
The left/liberal wing of US politics must have been thrilled at TACO and the ensuing barbs and guffaws. Trump may well now be vengeful because of that very snickering, revenge being a tactic he likes served hot.
It is possible that he will have the last laugh.
[Image: https://trumpchickensout.us/products/taco-trump-always-chickens-out-cap]
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR.
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