Taco ‘Bout a Trade Strategy: Trump Always Chickens Out

By Cliff Potts, WPS.News

In a move that would’ve made even Mike Royko put down his beer and grab a taco, the latest nickname for Donald J. Trump has hit the griddle: TACO — short for Trump Always Chickens Out. It’s got Wall Street smirking, Twitter crowing, and late-night comics sautéing it with extra sarcasm. But don’t be fooled. Behind the guacamole-thick layers of ridicule is a sharp indictment of Trump’s jittery approach to economic warfare.

The acronym, coined by the Financial Times, took off like a cholesterol-laden food truck at a MAGA rally. Traders started whispering “TACO trade” as a market strategy — buy the dip after Trump threatens tariffs, and cash in when he folds like a cheap lawn chair. It’s the political equivalent of threatening to nuke the neighbor’s dog every time it barks, then handing it a treat and blaming the deep state.

Trump, a man who famously celebrated Cinco de Mayo by posting a photo of himself eating a taco bowl and declaring “I love Hispanics!” may not appreciate the spicy irony. His tariffs, aimed at punishing foreign devils and pleasing Rust Belt dreamers, usually boomerang like a boozy promise at a bachelor party. First comes the threat, then the Wall Street nosedive, and finally the backpedaling so hard it scuffs the soles of his golf shoes.

Meanwhile, the nickname “TACO” has gone viral. AI-generated images show Trump in a sombrero, draped in lettuce and shame, while chickens perch atop his combover. Jimmy Kimmel even joined the fiesta, asking “How does it feel?” as if he were channeling Royko asking Daley why his cops were busting heads on Michigan Avenue.

TACO isn’t just a joke. It’s a branding scar — the kind Trump usually dishes out but can’t quite scrub off himself. It reveals a pattern: bluff, bluster, retreat. The “art of the deal,” it seems, comes with a side of indecision.

So what’s next? A burrito acronym? Enchilada economics? With Trump, anything’s possible — except consistency.

One thing’s clear: When it comes to global brinkmanship, this administration prefers its spine like its taco shells — soft.

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