Financial Times reporter Robert Armstrong coined a phrase describing American economic policies and their repercussions, in a report that became viral on social media, so much so that it prompted White House reporters to quote from it, in a provocative question to the president.
Armstrong meant to describe U.S. President Donald Trump's propensity to announce policy and then reverse track, as he had done around trade tariffs. He first announced them, then suspended or reduced them.
This zigzag caused a pattern of markets tumbling, followed by stock value spikes when the president changes course. Armstrong coined the term TACO – Trump always chickens out" to describe the administration, which does not have a high tolerance for economic pressure from the stock markets, backing down from announced policies once they inflict any pain
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The acronym quickly became a recurring joke on X's financial feed and, within weeks, became an integral part of discourse on Wall Street. Investors in TACO trade purchase stocks after their value tanked amid Trump's announced tariffs, and profit when the same stocks later recover. There is, of course, even an emoji of a Mexican taco that has accelerated the phenomenon.
On Wednesday, the joke reached the Oval Office where Trump was taking questions from reporters. One of them asked the president whether the term described his approach to tariffs.
Trump was not amused.
“I chicken out? I’ve never heard that,” he said. “Don’t ever say what you said,” he reprimanded the reporter. “That’s a nasty question. To me, that’s the nastiest question.”
"It's called negotiation," he said. "They wouldn't be over here today negotiating if I didn't put a 50% tariff" on Europe," he added. They'll say, oh, he was chicken. He was chicken. That's unbelievable. I usually have the opposite problem. They say, 'You're too tough, Mr. President.'"
That clearly got under his skin, a source at the White House told CNN. As a person who does not look fondly at weakness, the idea that anyone would think that he was weak is not well received, the source said.
Regardless, stock market volatility linked to Trump's inconsistent tariff policies is recognized.