President Donald Trump reacted angrily to a reporter who asked about a new term being used on Wall Street to describe his tariff strategy. The term, “TACO,” stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out” and refers to a pattern where the president makes tariff threats that disrupt markets, but later backs down, causing markets to recover. When asked about the term during a White House press event, Trump dismissed the question as “nasty.” He defended his approach, saying, “It’s called negotiation.
You set a number that’s ridiculously high, and if you go down a little bit, they want me to hold that number. But don’t ever say what you said.”
The president argued that his tariff threats have brought countries like China and the European Union to the negotiating table. He cited a recent example where he threatened the E.U. with steep tariffs starting June 1, but later delayed the deadline to July 9 after the European Commission requested an extension.
Trump defends tariff negotiation strategy
Trump expressed frustration that even when he makes a deal, critics will say he “chickened out.” He insisted that his actions have benefited the U.S., saying, “This country was dying. We have the hottest country anywhere in the world.
Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead.”
The exchange highlights the tension between the administration’s trade policies and market reactions. The “TACO” term, coined by a financial columnist, has gained traction among analysts to describe how markets tend to drop when tariffs are announced but rebound when those tariffs are delayed or rescinded. The incident occurred during a volatile period on Wall Street, marked by changing signals from the White House on tariff policies.
While the president’s threats have led to significant market swings, some investors have tried to capitalize on the pattern by following the “TACO” trade.
