United States President Donald Trump erupted in anger after being confronted with a new Wall Street moniker mocking his tariff policy—the “TACO Trade,” an acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
The exchange unfolded in the Oval Office following the swearing-in of Interim Attorney for the District of Washington, Jeanine Pirro. CNBC White House correspondent Megan Casella pressed Trump on growing skepticism about his tariff threats, citing market reactions.
“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?” she asked.
The jab—referencing a Financial Times column by Robert Armstrong—triggered an indignant response.
“Oh, isn’t that nice. Chicken out. I’ve never heard that,” Trump shot back. “You mean because I reduced China from 145 per cent that I set down to 100 and then down to another number. I said you have to open your whole country.”
He doubled down, citing his hardline stance with the European Union:
“And because I gave the European Union a 50 per cent … tariff and they called up and they said, ‘Please let’s meet right now.’ And I said, ‘I’ll give you until July’ … you call that chickening out?”
Trump then pivoted to broader economic grievances:
“Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead. People didn’t think it would survive, and you ask a nasty question like that. It’s called negotiation … Don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question.”
The outburst followed weeks of whiplash-inducing trade moves. On April 2—dubbed “Liberation Day” by Trump—he imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff and threatened targeted hikes on nearly every trading partner. Yet just before implementation, he paused all but the China tariffs, delaying enforcement until July 8 to allow negotiations. Markets rallied on the reprieve, fueling Wall Street’s “TACO” skepticism.
