Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined a new terminology for US President Donald Trump – TACO, on Wednesday.The full form of TACO? Trump Always Chickens Out.
The new term for the US President was Armstrong’s way of describing Trump’s tariff policies that have rattled global markets, created a wave of uncertainty, and were eventually termed by a US trade court as illegal, paving the way for a prolonged court battle.
Armstrong mentioned that Trump has a habit of announcing a new tariff policy, which takes the markets lower, and then backs out of those, leading to a rebound in the markets, and hence the TACO terminology.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on at least 60 countries, including those with no human population, which sent global equity markets into a tizzy. The move led to the S&P 500 losing over $6 trillion in market capitaisation over two days.In just a week, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs for allowing a window to negotiate with countries. However, after nearly 50 days of the tariff announcement, there has been no definitive deals announced, other than a broad outline with the UK, and a temporary truce with China.
The new term for the US President was Armstrong’s way of describing Trump’s tariff policies that have rattled global markets, created a wave of uncertainty, and were eventually termed by a US trade court as illegal, paving the way for a prolonged court battle.
Armstrong mentioned that Trump has a habit of announcing a new tariff policy, which takes the markets lower, and then backs out of those, leading to a rebound in the markets, and hence the TACO terminology.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on at least 60 countries, including those with no human population, which sent global equity markets into a tizzy. The move led to the S&P 500 losing over $6 trillion in market capitaisation over two days.In just a week, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs for allowing a window to negotiate with countries. However, after nearly 50 days of the tariff announcement, there has been no definitive deals announced, other than a broad outline with the UK, and a temporary truce with China.
US equities have recovered all of their losses since the Liberation Day announcements and have even turned positive on a year-to-date basis.
A CNBC reporter did ask the President about the new terminology, to which the President said that this is not called ‘Chickening Out’, but the art of negotiating a deal.
Trump highlighted how the European Union was unwilling to meet for negotiations but the moment he made his 50% tariff announcement from June 1, they approached him for a meeting date to negotiate a deal.
“You call that chickening out? Don’t ever say what you said,” Trump said.
First Published: May 29, 2025 9:20 AM IS
