“Don’t Ever Say What You Said”: Trump Snaps At Reporter Who Defines His ‘TACO’ Nickname

A new Wall Street nickname for the way Donald Trump does trade compares the U.S. President to a chicken, and he doesn’t like it one bit.

The term TACO has been coined to describe the way stocks plummet and surge when Trump announces new tariffs and then pulls them back.

After finding out what TACO stands for, Trump angrily slammed CNBC’s Megan Casella for making him aware of the acronym.

A CNBC reporter asked Trump for his response on the Wall Street nickname TACO

Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The phrase means “Trump always chickens out,” as the President found out at a press conference Wednesday.

“They’re saying ‘Trump always chickens out’ on the tariff threats and that’s why markets are higher this week,” Casella said. “What’s your response to that?”

“Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead,” Trump replied.

“We had a country, people didn’t think it was gonna survive. And you ask a nasty question like that?”

“Don’t ever say what you said,” he complained. “That is a nasty question.”

Image credits: CNBC

Trump had imposed a 145% tariff on China when he took office, sparking a trade war and retaliatory measures.

China hit back with a 125% tariff on some U.S. imports, as well as canceling orders of several Boeing aircraft.

Earlier this month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the two countries had come to an agreement and that there would be a 90-day pause.

The U.S. cut tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% for 90 days and China lowered the levy on U.S. goods to 10% for the same period of time.

Prior to the announcement, markets had been volatile, with investors remaining cautious amid escalating trade tensions and uncertainty over future tariff policies.

But investors reacted positively to the new deal and it led to a rally in global stock markets.

Image credits: Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images

Then, just days ago, Trump announced that he intended to place a 50% tariff on the European Union starting June 1, but said there would be no tariff if a product was made in the U.S.

“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” he posted on Truth Social.

“Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable.”

Trump granted an extension on tariff negotiations with the European Union

Image credits: Donald J. Trump

Three days later, on May 25, Trump confirmed he had spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and granted an extension on trade talks to July 9.

Both the EU and China tariffs have been described as examples of TACO trade, which was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong.

“They [the European Union] wouldn’t be over here today negotiating if I didn’t put a 50% tariff on,” Trump told Casella as she asked him about TACO trade.

“The sad thing is when I make a deal with them at some point for something more reasonable they’ll say, ‘Oh, he was chicken, he was chicken.’”

@cnnPresident Donald Trump was asked about “TACO,” an acronym that means “Trump Always Chickens Out,” which is used by Wall Street workers for his on-and-off approach to tariffs. Calling it “the nastiest question,” Trump defended his tariff policy by calling it “negotiation.”♬ original sound – CNN

“That’s unbelievable. I usually have the opposite problem. They say, ‘You’re too tough, Mr. President.’”

It comes as the Court of International Trade blocked the majority of sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump.

The court ruled that Trump overstepped his presidential authority by invoking emergency powers to bypass Congress and impose hefty tariffs.

Trump had used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to declare a national economic emergency.

That meant that although tariffs typically require congressional approval, he was able to act on his own to deal with trade deficits.

Image credits: The White House

But the panel has now ruled that the act did not grant the president authority to regulate importation using tariffs.

“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the judges wrote.

Levies on Mexico, Canada, and China to tackle drug trafficking also “fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders,” the panel declared.

The Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.