A mocking acronym used on Wall Street to describe Donald Trump’s repeated reversals on his tariffs is catching on in the general public.
The acronym TACO, short for ‘Trump Always Chickens Out,’ has seen a surge in Google searches signaling that the nickname isn’t just limited to Wall Street or the president’s online critics anymore, according to CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten.
“[TACO] is actually entering the mainstream culture, and we can see this right here in Google searches,” Enten said during a recent CNN segment. He pointed to a staggering 9,900% spike in search activity for the term between Tuesday and Thursday this week.
“This to me is quite troubling for Donald Trump because obviously he trades on his name,” Enten added. “He trades on the idea that he does what he says. If all of a sudden you’re associated ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ with Donald Trump, well, that is no bueno.”
There are signs that Trump does not like the name.
“That’s a nasty question,” he told CNBC White House reporter Megan Cassella this week after she asked him about the term. “Don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question. To me, that’s the nastiest question.”
Since returning to the White House, Trump has made tariffs a central part of his economic agenda. He slapped so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on every US trading partner on ‘Liberation Day’ and a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. But after China retaliated with 125% tariffs of its own, Trump quickly backed down, and dropped tariffs to 30% within days.
Trump has similarly backed down on tariffs with Canada, Mexico, and the European Union despite his tough talk.
The TACO nickname has put Trump in a corner where has to either double down on his tariff war to save face and further hurt the economy or reverse course again and risk becoming an even bigger joke.
“I don’t think Trump can back down now, mainly because of this TACO theme,” a Trump ally told Politico. “He’s clearly super irritated by it and it’s like a challenge to his very manhood now.”
