Trump "TACO" trade: How a columnist's catchphrase caused an Oval Office scene

At a press conference Wednesday, President Trump had a very unhappy reaction to being asked about the "TACO trade" — a shorthand for Trump Always Chickens Out.Why it matters: Traders have been using TACO to describe the belief that the president will back off on a big tariff threat if the markets sink in response.It happened after "Liberation Day," and more recently last weekend when the president threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union. The market dropped — only to recover after the president said he'd give the EU more time to negotiate.TACO is a catchier version of what Wall Street had been calling the Trump put, which investors relied on in the president's first term.State of play: Trump was asked about a spate of TACO-related headlines while taking questions in the Oval Office Wednesday."I've never heard that, you mean because I reduced China from 145%," he said, then detailing how he stepped down that threat, as well as the higher rate on the EU."But don't ever say what you said. That's a nasty question."Zoom out: Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong felt some dread about the whole thing, he told Axios later in the day.Armstrong, who writes the FTs Unhedged newsletter, came up with the term TACO a few months ago."I needed a shorthand way in my newsletter to describe this pattern, because it was an important pattern in markets. And perhaps I was hungry, too, and so I came up with the acronym TACO."It didn't take off at first. "It was definitely not becoming a thing, but I kept using it because it had utility for me, and then it sort of started to appear in brokers notes. And, you know, people started mentioning it to me, and then it shows up in a New York Times headline, and today, somebody is putting a question to the president."Friction point: Apparently, sometimes the markets don't need TACO. The courts intervene instead.Wednesday night, a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked most of the tariffs the Trump administration has put in place — ruling he didn't have the authority to implement them.The bottom line: "I want to be famous for my dumb joke, definitely, but I also don't want the president to ruin the U.S. economy," Armstrong says. "And so I'd like to have both of those things, if at all possible."

Comments

World news

Express

Foreign Office issues Greece travel advice for Brits over safety concerns

about 1 hour ago

Express

'I'm a detective who worked with Madeleine McCann's family - they've found evidence'

about 1 hour ago

Independent

‘Let down by a world that claims to be humane but does nothing’: Palestinians speak out as Israeli bulldozers raze West Bank villages

about 1 hour ago

Independent

Sade Robinson went on a first date and never came home. Her murder has fueled demands for change in missing persons cases

about 1 hour ago

Trump-Musk feud live updates: Elon deletes tweet claiming the president is in the Epstein files amid public break-up

Independent

Harrowing plight of world's loneliest killer whales and dolphins: Tragic stories behind majestic sea creatures neglected and abused in marine parks

about 4 hours ago

Dailymail

Death and drugs on the Algarve: Inside the tourist town where locals say 'entitled and drunk' Brits are easy prey for 'very dangerous' dealers

about 4 hours ago

Comments

Similar News

Watch: Did Trump win the re-election because of Musk?

Mass deportations from Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill could quietly cost U.S. over $1.4 trillion

Will Musk's explosive row with Trump help or harm his businesses?

Kash Patel has live ‘WTF’ moment on Joe Rogan as he learns of Trump vs. Musk mid-interview

Elon Musk’s crash-out killed conservatives’ momentum — and likely guaranteed passage of Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’

The Economics of Trump’s Budget and Policy Bill

Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s fallout, explained

Buyer With Ties to Chinese Communist Party Got V.I.P. Treatment at Trump Crypto Dinner

Trump administration scrambling to rehire workers cut by DOGE to fill critical government roles

You can now bet on the next steps in the Trump-Musk fallout and when they will have their first meeting

Linda McMahon says Harvard and Columbia making ‘progress’ to meet Trump’s demands to stop antisemitism

Kash Patel has live ‘WTF’ moment on Joe Rogan as he learns of Trump vs. Musk mid-interview

JD Vance silence on Musk may be the most Game of Thrones tactic ever — and Trump might not even notice

Trump announces US-China trade talks in London next week

"He's a lunatic": Democrats shut down idea of Musk alliance after break with Trump

‘Big Balls’ and other Musk DOGE proteges could see payback from Trump-Elon feud after mass firings

Trump brings the BOOM! New order opens skies across US to supersonic flights

The Latest: Trump-Musk relationship appears to implode

Trump sends Bessent and Lutnick to haggle with Chinese on tariff war after Xi chat

Trump's bill is floundering in the Senate as Musk attacks intensify

World news

Foreign Office issues Greece travel advice for Brits over safety concerns

'I'm a detective who worked with Madeleine McCann's family - they've found evidence'

‘Let down by a world that claims to be humane but does nothing’: Palestinians speak out as Israeli bulldozers raze West Bank villages

Sade Robinson went on a first date and never came home. Her murder has fueled demands for change in missing persons cases

Trump-Musk feud live updates: Elon deletes tweet claiming the president is in the Epstein files amid public break-up

JD Vance breaks his silence on Trump and Musk feud after seeing Elon’s Epstein tweet during Theo Von interview

Egg recall over salmonella warning spans across nine states

Musk was Trump’s tweeter-in-chief. Now he’s using X against him

‘He had everyone fooled:’ How a 24-year-old Venezuelan man lived a lie as a high school student for over a year

Simone Biles blasts ‘truly sick’ Riley Gaines over swimmer’s mockery of 17-year-old trans athlete

France's president will visit Greenland in a show of EU unity, Danish leader says

Incredible new footage of Ukraine’s Op Spiderweb shows smuggled drone taking off & swooping on Putin’s burning bombers

‘My brother took his own life 48 hours after discharge from NHS mental health care’

Newcastle could tweak system to land £60m transfer with two wingers also on list

Huge fire breaks out at Russian oil refinery after suspected Ukrainian drone attack

D.C. schools are banning cellphones, joining almost half of the nation

Scoop: Rocket launchers, missiles to be featured in Army's D.C. parade

Second Brit tourist found dead and 'naked' in Albufeira holiday resort horror

Madeleine McCann prime suspect's ex-flatmate is 'sure he left evidence somewhere'

Polo-loving drug lord's double life catches up with him

The world's highest railway bridge that cost £140m and is taller than the Eiffel Tower

The world's longest road - 19,000 miles long through 14 countries

Russia economy meltdown as vital oil exports suffer staggering £3bn blow

Covid surge in Asia sparks concern about emergence of more infectious variants

‘Fame-hungry’ Titan sub boss Stockton Rush ‘wanted to die at world’s most famous shipwreck in high-profile disaster’

Brit tourist, 21, found dead on street in popular Algarve party resort as cops launch investigation

Con Mum true story – how chef Graham Hornigold was scammed by dying ‘mother’

Rory McIlroy has had a shocker – and I don’t just mean his golf

Robbie in London was over the top, bizarre yet also sincere – only he can do that

We&#8217;re secretly winning the war on cancer

Vladimir Putin's 'secret daughter', 22, works at anti-war art galleries in Paris

'Murderer' gives chilling reason for decapitating woman found dead in suitcase

Musk has money, but Trump has power

The great poaching: America's brain drain begins

Bank of Canada’s head says rate pause a result of ‘shock-prone’ world

Body of Thai hostage recovered from Gaza, Israel says

The many ways Ukraine carries out unprecedented drone attacks

Israel Recovers Body of Thai Farmworker in Gaza

Macron Will Visit Greenland This Month, Defying Trump

Europe's largest marina that's a haven for billionaires and is home to superyachts

The Greek island just as beautiful as Santorini but without the crowds

The inside story of how Green Brigade reignited Israel Red Card movement in football

‘He’s a bad guy’: Trump backs decision to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to US to face charges

Russia is already at war with Britain and we can no longer rely on Trump, defence adviser warns

Can Pope Leo XIV solve the Vatican funding crisis? Here’s how the Holy See manages money

Former police officer sentenced after lying about leaking info to Proud Boys leader

An electric scooter is blamed for a violent fire that killed 4 in a French city

A top Taliban official offers amnesty to Afghans who fled the country and urges them to return

Jobs at the Port of Los Angeles are down by half, executive director says

Toronto parents rally to save job of long-serving principal at arts high school

Prolific B.C. drunk driver could face deportation after dozens of driving bans over 30 years

Rancid-smelling super ants that form whopping colonies & even eat CABLES rampaging across Europe – & could infest the UK

Explosives hidden in animal carcasses used in new warfare tactic in Ukraine

Laugh, but Trump and Musk’s battle will have consequences for everyone

Inside the quiet market town bracing for Labour’s new 55bn-litre reservoir

The flanker who can use Premiership final to excite England fans like Pollock

Trump is damaging America’s reputation – and even his supporters are wising up

We’re secretly winning the war on cancer