What is the newly coined word “TACO trade” that infuriates President Trump?
“TACO Trade” is a critique of President Donald Trump’s tendency to impose or threaten tariffs and then reverse them.
- President Trump postponed threatening to attack Iranian power plants after issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz.
- Some critics have applied the phrase “TACO Trump” to this situation, meaning “Trump always flips.”
President Donald Trump on March 23 postponed a threat he issued last weekend against Iranian power plants.
President Trump has pressured Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes. The March 21 Truth social post gave the US 48 hours to “destroy” its own power plants. Iran threatened to retaliate with attacks on critical energy and water systems.
But on the day of the deadline, President Trump said he was postponing the strike for five days following “good and productive dialogue” with Iran to resolve hostilities in the Middle East. Iranian state media characterized the postponement as a setback, and the speaker of Iran’s parliament ruled out any negotiations.
Some of Trump’s critics also refer to him as “TACO Trump.” What does that mean?
What does taco mean?
Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined the term “TACO trade” in May 2025 to describe how some investors were expecting a market rebound amid repeated Trump tariffs.
This acronym stands for “Trump always chickens out.”
Armstrong described the TACO trade as a strategy by some investors to buy into a depressed market on the assumption that President Trump would rescind his tariff orders, and then assume the market would recover.
President Trump previously shot back at a reporter who asked him about the term, saying, “You ask such mean questions. That’s called negotiation.”
The Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that many of President Trump’s tariffs are illegal.
President Trump postpones attack on Iranian power for 5 days
Over the weekend, President Trump threatened to attack Iran’s power plants if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is a waterway that connects the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. This is a choke point for about 20% of the world’s oil shipments. The oil has been largely shut down since the US started the Iran war, impacting global oil markets and driving up prices. A barrel of crude oil hovered around $100 last weekend, and has risen more than $30 in the past 30 days. As of Monday, March 23, the average gallon of regular gasoline in the United States was $3.956, more than $1 more than a month ago, according to AAA calculations.
“If Iran does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz without threat within 48 hours from this point, the United States will attack and destroy various power plants, starting with the largest!” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night, March 21st.
But by Monday morning, President Trump backed off the possibility of escalation, saying the United States and Iran had had a “very good and productive dialogue.”
“Based on the tenor and tone of the deep, detailed, and constructive conversations that have continued throughout this week, I have directed the Department of the Army to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, subject to the success of ongoing meetings and discussions,” a March 23 Truth Social post said.
Iranian state media said no negotiations were taking place and described President Trump’s decision to postpone attacks on energy facilities as a “backward step.”
President Trump told reporters on March 23 that he planned to meet with Iranian leaders and if things went well, the war could end soon.
“Otherwise we just keep dropping bombs on our little minds,” President Trump said.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a veteran of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and speaker of Iran’s parliament, said the United States and Iran are not negotiating.
In response to President Trump’s remarks, Ghalibaf said in a post on X on March 23, “There are no negotiations with the United States, and fake news is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets and to get the United States and Israel out of the quagmire they are in.”
Contributors: Kate Perez, Christopher Cann, Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky, and TikTok.
