There’s a new term floating around in Wall Street. There’s one thing finance bros love more than finding a pattern in the market — and that’s giving it a provocative phrase. Well, there’s a new pattern they’re calling “TACO,” and Trump, for one, thinks it’s rather “nasty.”
The pattern that Wall Street has outlined is pretty straightforward — whenever the Trump administration announces a tariff, there’s an initial shock and then the stocks drop. But then, usually, those tariffs get walked back, delayed, or even renegotiated — then, surprise, the markets bounce back. According to yet another thorn in Trump’s flesh, CBS, this pattern has gotten a new phrase in Wall Street — Trump Always Chickens Out, or TACO.
Reportedly, the term was first coined by Financial Times reporter Robert Armstrong. The publication is well trusted by the finance industry, and it’s no shock that it soon got legs and has become an insider, tongue-in-cheek way to respond to, say, the latest China tariff walk-back.
The core idea is that the Trump administration will always bow to market pressures. In Wall Street, there’s a strong opinion on Trump — that he will talk big, but nothing much beyond that. A great example of this phenomenon is when Trump announced a delay on the planned 50% EU tariffs on May 26, just before Memorial Day weekend. The market obviously rallied quickly after. Whether Trump is indecisive or just bluffing — Wall Street has grown to expect it.
The market had dropped significantly when Trump announced the tariffs toward his longtime allies. And on Memorial Day itself, Trump claimed that his delay was so he could allow more time for negotiations. It was only a matter of time before a reporter asked the question directly to the president.
Trump immediately snapped back with, “That’s a nasty question.” He pushed back, insisting he’s not “chickening out,” and said this was actually a negotiating tactic. Trump laid it all out and said his threats are how he brings these nations to the table. But the word “chicken” truly got under his skin, and he was mouthing it over and over again, claiming that he usually has the issue of being called too tough.
Trump really hated that TACO question
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 29, 2025pic.twitter.com/bwylBL6eFn
As the story started doing the rounds on X, people started worrying that being called a coward could be the catalyst for him making even more of a show with the tariffs. One user exclaimed he “really wish nobody told him this.”
Really wish nobody told him about this https://t.co/HKQlRr2vPU
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) May 28, 2025
Trump’s entire campaign for presidency can be tracked to Seth Meyers embarrassing him that one time at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s fathomable that Trump might see it as a reason where he has to massage his ego and take even more stringent steps. Because the entire world is watching. So if just one reporter could knock him off balance and make him reveal his entire strategy — then what else could he do under real intense pressure from all the enemies he’s been making lately?
And even so, the Wall Street guys were right, technically. He ALWAYS chickens out. He himself admitted that it’s his entire strategy.
