‘TACO’: Wall Street Mocks Trump With 4-Letter Code to Call Bets Against Him

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Wall Street traders have developed a biting new acronym for a strategy that’s become surprisingly lucrative for President Donald Trump’s whiplash-inducing trade policy: TACO – “Trump Always Chickens Out.”

Reportedly first coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong, the term has quickly gained traction among investors who are profiting from what they say is a predictable pattern: Trump threatens steep tariffs, the markets plunge, and days later he backs off in a way that prompts a rebound.

The latest example came over the weekend. On Friday, Trump sent markets reeling by announcing sweeping 50% tariffs on European imports. But by Sunday, the White House abruptly paused the move, citing a fresh round of trade talks. When the markets reopened on Tuesday, stocks surged.

The TACO trade strategy is reportedly being openly embraced by some investors, according to the New York Post.

“Once he delivers bad news, investors are buying those stocks when they are beaten down waiting for him to chicken out and watching those stocks rebound in value,” said Ted Jenkin, president of Exit Stage Left Advisors, in an interview with the outlet.

Economists say this type of market behavior, explicitly betting against a sitting president’s follow-through, is unprecedented.

University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers told Barron’s on Tuesday that “there was no BACO trade” – referring to former President Joe Biden – and “no CACO trade” referring to former President Bill Clinton.

“It was always taken as a given that when the president spoke on Monday, he would likely still mean it on Tuesday,” he added. “That’s no longer true. But what’s really hard is that it’s not even obvious when it’ll be true, and when it won’t be. Madness.”