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On May 28, 2025, the [[United States Court of International Trade]] (CIT) [[Tariffs in the second Trump administration#Legality|ruled]] that Trump had overreached his authority under the [[International Emergency Economic Powers Act]] (IEEPA) and vacated all tariffs related to it. This prompted California Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] to comment, "It's raining tacos today."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/29/blue-states-cheer-trumps-tariff-setbacks-00375415 |title=Newsom taunts Trump after tariffs loss: ‘It’s raining tacos’ |author=Dustin Gardiner, Alex Nieves |publication-date=May 29, 2025 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-troll-trump-with-taco-jokes-amid-tariff-chaos/ |title=Democrats Troll Trump With Taco Jokes Amid Tariff Chaos |publication-date=May 31, 2025 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref> [[Reuters]] published a note about acronyms popular among investors four months into Trump's second term: [[YOLO (aphorism)|YOLO]], TACO, MEGA, MAGA (Make America Go Away), and FAFO. When reached for comment, White House spokesman [[Kush Desai]] said in an email, "these asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/taco-fafo-investors-love-parodies-trump-acronyms-2025-05-30/ |title=From TACO to FAFO, investors love parodies of Trump acronyms |author=Stephen Culp, Suzanne McGee |publication-date=May 31, 2025 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=June 12, 2025 }}</ref> | On May 28, 2025, the [[United States Court of International Trade]] (CIT) [[Tariffs in the second Trump administration#Legality|ruled]] that Trump had overreached his authority under the [[International Emergency Economic Powers Act]] (IEEPA) and vacated all tariffs related to it. This prompted California Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] to comment, "It's raining tacos today."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/29/blue-states-cheer-trumps-tariff-setbacks-00375415 |title=Newsom taunts Trump after tariffs loss: ‘It’s raining tacos’ |author=Dustin Gardiner, Alex Nieves |publication-date=May 29, 2025 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-troll-trump-with-taco-jokes-amid-tariff-chaos/ |title=Democrats Troll Trump With Taco Jokes Amid Tariff Chaos |publication-date=May 31, 2025 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref> [[Reuters]] published a note about acronyms popular among investors four months into Trump's second term: [[YOLO (aphorism)|YOLO]], TACO, MEGA, MAGA (Make America Go Away), and FAFO. When reached for comment, White House spokesman [[Kush Desai]] said in an email, "these asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/taco-fafo-investors-love-parodies-trump-acronyms-2025-05-30/ |title=From TACO to FAFO, investors love parodies of Trump acronyms |author=Stephen Culp, Suzanne McGee |publication-date=May 31, 2025 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=June 12, 2025 }}</ref> | ||
In an interview with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC on May 30, economist [[Justin Wolfers]] coined additional acronyms about Trump's actions themed on Mexican food: [[Burrito]] – the "Blatantly Unconstitutional Rewriting of the Rules of International Trade, Obviously". He said that the correct response would be to invoke [[Churro]] – the "Courts Have Ultimate Responsibility to Restore Order"<ref>{{cite AV media | |||
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|title = Tim Miller: ‘He wants to feel powerful and the tariff card allows him to do that’ | |||
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David A. Graham,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-a-graham/ |title=David A. Graham |publication-date=2025 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=June 6, 2025 }}</ref> writing for ''[[The Atlantic]]'', recalled his own 2018 analysis of Trump's "pattern of nearly always folding" on international politics during his [[First presidency of Donald Trump|first term]], pointing out that Wall Street is just "catching on," and given that now Trump knows about the TACO trade expression it could mean that he may make bad choices and persist on them, causing the markets to tank.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/05/taco-donald-trump-wall-street-tariffs/682994/ |title=The TACO Presidency. Wall Street seems to have finally figured out Donald Trump—and it may be too late. |author=David A. Graham |publication-date=May 30, 2025 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=June 6, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602171158/https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/05/taco-donald-trump-wall-street-tariffs/682994/ |archive-date=June 2, 2025 }}</ref> In an interview for [[Reuters]], in the context of Trump's May 30 announcement of [[Tariffs in the second Trump administration#Steel and aluminum tariffs|increased tariffs on steel and aluminum]], Joachim Klement, head of strategy at the investment bank [[Panmure Gordon|Panmure Liberum]] said, "We think that, unfortunately, as the so-called TACO trade becomes more viral, it becomes more likely that Trump will stick to higher tariffs just to prove a point."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-taco-nickname-tariffs-b2762060.html |title=Trump’s TACO codename will make him so mad he’ll enforce tariffs just to make a point: expert |author=Rhian Lubin |publication-date=June 2, 2025 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=June 2, 2025 |title=Market Talk: TACO trade 'makes it more likely Trump sticks to tariffs' |medium=Internet video |url=https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW863402062025RP1/ |access-date=June 4, 2025 |publisher=[[Reuters]] }}</ref> | David A. Graham,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-a-graham/ |title=David A. Graham |publication-date=2025 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=June 6, 2025 }}</ref> writing for ''[[The Atlantic]]'', recalled his own 2018 analysis of Trump's "pattern of nearly always folding" on international politics during his [[First presidency of Donald Trump|first term]], pointing out that Wall Street is just "catching on," and given that now Trump knows about the TACO trade expression it could mean that he may make bad choices and persist on them, causing the markets to tank.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/05/taco-donald-trump-wall-street-tariffs/682994/ |title=The TACO Presidency. Wall Street seems to have finally figured out Donald Trump—and it may be too late. |author=David A. Graham |publication-date=May 30, 2025 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=June 6, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602171158/https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/05/taco-donald-trump-wall-street-tariffs/682994/ |archive-date=June 2, 2025 }}</ref> In an interview for [[Reuters]], in the context of Trump's May 30 announcement of [[Tariffs in the second Trump administration#Steel and aluminum tariffs|increased tariffs on steel and aluminum]], Joachim Klement, head of strategy at the investment bank [[Panmure Gordon|Panmure Liberum]] said, "We think that, unfortunately, as the so-called TACO trade becomes more viral, it becomes more likely that Trump will stick to higher tariffs just to prove a point."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-taco-nickname-tariffs-b2762060.html |title=Trump’s TACO codename will make him so mad he’ll enforce tariffs just to make a point: expert |author=Rhian Lubin |publication-date=June 2, 2025 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=June 4, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=June 2, 2025 |title=Market Talk: TACO trade 'makes it more likely Trump sticks to tariffs' |medium=Internet video |url=https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW863402062025RP1/ |access-date=June 4, 2025 |publisher=[[Reuters]] }}</ref> | ||
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===In the media=== | ===In the media=== | ||
[[File:Trump TACO meme.jpg|thumb|upright|An AI-generated image of Donald Trump dressed as a chicken and holding tacos]] | |||
Almost immediately after Trump's response the term started a trend of memes about Trump referencing the TACO acronym or the phrase directly. The memes often employed [[Generative artificial intelligence|generative AI]] to produce artificial images and video of Trump in situations parodying the viral term.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=May 29, 2025 |title=Tacos with Trump's face, chickens on his head: Internet explodes with memes on 'Trump Always Chickens Out' |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/tacos-with-trumps-face-chickens-on-his-head-internet-explodes-with-memes-on-trump-always-chickens-out/articleshow/121493616.cms |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McFall |first=Marni |date=May 29, 2025 |title=TACO Trump Memes Explode Across Internet as President Mocked Over Tariffs |url=https://www.newsweek.com/taco-trump-memes-internet-tariffs-2078411 |website=Newsweek |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref> [[Editorial cartoons]] parodied Trump's reaction to the term, frequently utilizing [[pun]]s and exaggerated caricatures of [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]] and Trump.<ref name="theweek">{{cite news |title=Marching tacos spoil Donald Trump's birthday parade and more TACO editorial cartoons |url=https://theweek.com/cartoons/taco-donald-trump-birthday-parade-editorial-cartoons |access-date=2 June 2025 |work=The Week |date=2 June 2025}}</ref> | Almost immediately after Trump's response the term started a trend of memes about Trump referencing the TACO acronym or the phrase directly. The memes often employed [[Generative artificial intelligence|generative AI]] to produce artificial images and video of Trump in situations parodying the viral term.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=May 29, 2025 |title=Tacos with Trump's face, chickens on his head: Internet explodes with memes on 'Trump Always Chickens Out' |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/tacos-with-trumps-face-chickens-on-his-head-internet-explodes-with-memes-on-trump-always-chickens-out/articleshow/121493616.cms |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McFall |first=Marni |date=May 29, 2025 |title=TACO Trump Memes Explode Across Internet as President Mocked Over Tariffs |url=https://www.newsweek.com/taco-trump-memes-internet-tariffs-2078411 |website=Newsweek |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref> [[Editorial cartoons]] parodied Trump's reaction to the term, frequently utilizing [[pun]]s and exaggerated caricatures of [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]] and Trump.<ref name="theweek">{{cite news |title=Marching tacos spoil Donald Trump's birthday parade and more TACO editorial cartoons |url=https://theweek.com/cartoons/taco-donald-trump-birthday-parade-editorial-cartoons |access-date=2 June 2025 |work=The Week |date=2 June 2025}}</ref> | ||
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Business and personal
45th and 47th President of the United States Tenure
Impeachments   | ||
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Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO), also known as theTACO Trade, is an acronym that gained prominence in May 2025 aftermany threats and reversals during thetrade warDonald Trump initiated withhis administration's"Liberation Day" tariffs.[1]The acronym is used to describe Trump's tendency to make tariff threats, only to later delay them as a way to increase time for negotiations and for markets to rebound.[1][2]
The term was first used byFinancial Times journalist Robert Armstrong in a May 2, 2025opinion piece that discussed tariffs and their effects on theUS markets.[3] In the piece, part of a series titled "Unhedged", Armstrong said that markets were realizing that "the US administration does not have a very high tolerance for market and economic pressure, and will be quick to back off when tariffs cause pain". Armstrong called this "the Taco theory: Trump Always Chickens Out".[4][5]
Before the emergence of the TACO acronym, Trump's tendency to change his mind on policy positions had been described since hisfirst presidential campaign,[6] using terms such as backtrack,[7] reversal,[8][9] and flip-flop,[10][11][12][13] among others, and also on specific matters like immigration,[14] or trade.[15][16][17]
This tendency continues to be reported after TACO became popular, regarding aspects ofTrump's second presidency, like trade,[18] immigration,[19] or international relationships.[20]
Katie Martin of theFinancial Times gave three recent examples of "the Taco factor" where Trump had reversed a decision in response to the market's reaction: Trump setting high "Liberation Day tariffs" and pausing them a week later, his calling for the termination of Federal Reserve chairJerome Powell before distancing himself from the idea, and the US committing to roll back tariffs against China during trade talks in May.[21] Another example is when Trump would delay his 50% tariff proposal affectingEU imports to July 9, this would later cause European markets torally.[22][23]
Shannon Pettypiece ofNBC News presented ten examples of Trump backtracking on tariffs he had announced or imposed: European Union tariffs, tariff on wine, Canada and Mexico tariffs, tariff on films, reciprocal tariffs, China tariffs, tariff on iPhones, Colombia tariffs, Tariff on dolls, and auto tariffs.[24]
On June 11, 2025, Trump posted onTruth Social that he had reached a deal in the US'strade war with China.[25]ABC News noted that a Chinese spokesperson said it was a "framework" to consolidate the agreements reached in May, and that the talks represented the "first meeting". Secretary of CommerceHoward Lutnick referred to the agreement as a "handshake for a framework".[26]The Wall Street Journal published an editorial criticizing the deal, calling it a "truce that tilts in China's direction" by appearing to be "resetting their trade relationship to where it was a few months ago before a tit-for-tat escalation".[27][28]Fareed Zakaria of theThe Washington Post saw the vague trade deal as an example of "TACO", except for "one twist", that Americans "will still pay a tariff rate of 55 percent on goods from China (compared to China's 10 percent tariff on American goods)".[29] On July 8, 2025, Trump again announced a delay in implementing tariffs against 14 countries, pushing back the deadline for negotiations from July 9 to August 1.[30]
Gideon Rachman of theFinancial Times wrote that "Trump always chickens out on foreign policy too," citing a paper byJeremy Shapiro of theEuropean Council on Foreign Relations that found that Trump had threatened the use of force against foreign adversaries on 22 occasions (as of early 2025), but actually did so on only two occasions.[31] For example, during his first term, Trump threatened "fire and fury" againstNorth Korea and threatened to wipeAfghanistan "off the face of the earth" within 10 days; Trump followed through in neither case, instead entering failed negotiations with North Koreaover its nuclear program and entering into anagreement for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan without any meaningful concessions from theTaliban in return.[31]
Donald Trump was asked by Megan Cassella, aCNBC Correspondent, what he thought about the term on May 28, 2025, during a swearing-in ceremony for the acting attorney general. He denied the behavior, saying "it's called negotiation". He called the question a "nasty question", adding "I usually have the opposite problem. They say I am too tough".[3][32] According toCNN, Trump had not yet heard the term, and he first understood that Cassella was calling him a chicken.[33]
Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out Trump's policies and actions that, in his opinion, will be reversed by the courts, but which, together with the reversals Trump himself has done, characterize him as an ineffective president since everybody is increasingly aware that he will back down, giving rise to the acronym TACO, while thetariffs war keeps hurting American businesses.[34]The New York Times quoted analysts Salomon Fiedler ofBerenberg Bank,Paul Donovan ofUBS Wealth Management, and Chris Beauchamp ofIG Group, saying that Trump's tariff threats don't last.[22]
On May 28, 2025, theUnited States Court of International Trade (CIT)ruled that Trump had overreached his authority under theInternational Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and vacated all tariffs related to it. This prompted California GovernorGavin Newsom to comment, "It's raining tacos today."[35][36]Reuters published a note about acronyms popular among investors four months into Trump's second term:YOLO, TACO, MEGA, MAGA (Make America Go Away), and FAFO. When reached for comment, White House spokesmanKush Desai said in an email, "these asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence."[37]
In an interview with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC on May 30, economistJustin Wolfers coined additional acronyms about Trump's actions themed on Mexican food:Burrito – the "Blatantly Unconstitutional Rewriting of the Rules of International Trade, Obviously". He said that the correct response would be to invokeChurro – the "Courts Have Ultimate Responsibility to Restore Order"[38]
David A. Graham,[39] writing forThe Atlantic, recalled his own 2018 analysis of Trump's "pattern of nearly always folding" on international politics during hisfirst term, pointing out that Wall Street is just "catching on," and given that now Trump knows about the TACO trade expression it could mean that he may make bad choices and persist on them, causing the markets to tank.[40] In an interview forReuters, in the context of Trump's May 30 announcement ofincreased tariffs on steel and aluminum, Joachim Klement, head of strategy at the investment bankPanmure Liberum said, "We think that, unfortunately, as the so-called TACO trade becomes more viral, it becomes more likely that Trump will stick to higher tariffs just to prove a point."[41][42]
On June 3, 2025, aTuesday, theDemocratic National Committee parked a rentedtaco truck, customized with images of Trump wearing a chicken costume, outside theRepublican National Committee headquarters, and distributed freetacos to passers-by "as an effective way to draw attention to Trump's tariff policies, which they described as "playing games with working families’ livelihoods."[43][44] Vice PresidentJD Vance criticised the opposition party as "lame," to which the DNC answered calling him "the cringiest VP in American history," and mentioning that theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act is likely to "take away food from people."[45]
Zeeshan Aleem,[46] writing forMSNBC, criticised Democrats using TACO as a political slogan because it is inexact, as Trump was (as of June 2025) maintaining both baseline and specific tariffs. Also, because "Why on Earth would Democrats dare Trump tofollow through on his most extreme tariff threats?" Aleem quotes Robert Armstrong lamenting the impact of his creation: "Let us state clearly, chickening out is good and something to be celebrated. Bad policy chickening out, hooray." Finally, because if the Democrats' message is that Trump is a threat to democracy, "it’s a bit odd to simultaneously argue that Trump is all talk and no action."[47]
Almost immediately after Trump's response the term started a trend of memes about Trump referencing the TACO acronym or the phrase directly. The memes often employedgenerative AI to produce artificial images and video of Trump in situations parodying the viral term.[48][49]Editorial cartoons parodied Trump's reaction to the term, frequently utilizingpuns and exaggerated caricatures ofPutin and Trump.[50]
The term has been widely reported in the international press,[51][52][53] with the phrase translated into Estonian (Trump lööb alati vedelaks),[54] French (Trump se dégonfle toujours),[55] German (Trump macht immer einen Rückzieher),[56] Norwegian (Trump trekker seg alltid),[57] Slovene (Trump se vedno ustraši),[58] Spanish (Trump siempre se acobarda),[59] Brazilian Portuguese (Trump sempre amarela),[60] and other languages.
The View hostsWhoopi Goldberg,Joy Behar andAna Navarro praised the TACO phrase on their show. Navarro's analysis and discussion of the nickname with other cohosts included why they suspected the name gained traction and what led to the name's popularity, stating "For a nickname to be effective, there’s got to be truth to it, which this has: His trade policy is all over the place [...] And it’s got to get under the person’s skin, which it clearly did". HostSara Haines noted Trump's common use of insulting nicknames for public figures he dislikes. Navarro also likened the trending nickname to "karma" for Trump's previous actions relating to Mexico in the beginning of his second term, includingbanning theAssociated Press from White House press events due to their refusal to refer to theGulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America".[61]
[Updated November 28, 2016] President-Elect Donald Trump took 141 distinct stances on 23 major issues during his bid for the White House. [Subjects are:] Immigration. Young undocumented immigrants and children of illegal immigrants. Proposed Muslin ban. Visas for high-skilled workers. Border control and the refugee crisis. Defeating ISIS. Guns. 'First use' and nuclear arms. Minimum wage. Taxes. Climate change. National debt. Abortion. Whether President Obama was born in America. Voting for the Iraq War. 2011 intervention in Libya. Japan and nukes. Money in politics. Violating U.S. and international laws with regard to torture, terrorism. Ku Klux Klan and David Duke. The Iran nuclear deal. Health Care. Rigged election/Political system. Accepting the outcome of the election.
Donald Trump irked even his fellow Republicans last week with his health care and border closure pushes, only to back off both, capping one of the most turbulent weeks of his chaotic presidency. But it's unlikely to hinder his re-election fight.
The president is in a hurry. Executive orders, tariffs, mass firings — all are happening at a speed that has made it hard for the nation to keep up. And tough for Trump to carry out.
The chaotic start of his presidency has been characterized by a rash of reversals and retreats as he hastens to execute his agenda while his party controls both houses of Congress and his political capital is at its peak.
President Donald Trump hit the ground running for his second term in the Oval Office, issuing a flurry of executive orders and policy shifts at breakneck speed.
Some came so fast, in fact, they barely had time to take effect before being reversed.
(...) But Trump's flip-flop on Wednesday was just the most recent one. Here are 10 examples: Nuclear proliferation. The Iraq War. Afghanistan War. Abortion. Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Torture. Immigration. Gun control. Muslim ban. Hillary Clinton.
(...) Overall, Trump has taken 32 new stances on 13 different issues since his election. The president's shifting agenda has established him as one of the most unpredictable American leaders in modern history. (...) In order to better understand the president, we've tracked Trump's new policy pronouncements and flip flops on big issues from Election Day forward. FBI Director James Comey's Performance and Firing. Health Care. Immigration Reform, Enforcement. Entitlement Programs. LGBTQ Rights. NATO. Intervention in Syria. Special Interests in Government, "Drain the Swamp." China. Low Interest Rates. Removing Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair. Export-Import Bank. Golfing While President.
From ordering the bombing of Syria to distancing himself from adviser Steve Bannon, to softening his rhetoric on China, Trump is on a record-setting pace for changing his mind. His penchant for sudden U-turns has become a defining characteristic of what's been a chaotic, improvisational White House.
As former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris face off in their debate Tuesday night, one likely area of contention will be their mutual accusations of flip-flopping — a charge that politicians have long deployed to portray their opponents as lacking principle.
It is true that both have changed some of their policy positions, as politicians often do — whether for political expediency or because their thinking has evolved with new information. But while Ms. Harris has moderated a number of progressive stances she took in the 2020 Democratic primary, Mr. Trump has reversed himself entirely, gone back and forth or avoided taking clear stands on a host of important issues.
It was the latest major policy shift from a candidate who has proven equal parts hardline and chameleon-like over time. Trump's pivot on immigration followed his reversal on TikTok, embracing an app he once tried to ban, and his shift on cryptocurrency.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)On Thursday, Donald Trump signed a few more executive orders. Among the scores he's churned out since taking office, these were unique, since they partially reversed orders from just two days ago.
It was the latest backpedal by the White House in the face of furious fallout both at home and abroad to his 25% sanctions against Canada and Mexico.
Donald Trump is building a reputation for himself as the flip-flopper in chief — the president who, after announcing a bold new policy today, is more than likely to reverse it tomorrow.
Why it matters: In a chaotic and unpredictable world, the federal government normally acts as a stabilizing force. Under Trump, it has become the primary driver of the chaos.
The big picture: Across-the-board tariffs on Mexico and Canada — two of America's three largest trading partners — have been on and then off and then on and then off. Colombia knows the feeling.
The US president declared this week to be a key milestone of his second term, as he unveiled his first major trade deal since returning to office following accelerated talks with the UK.
But it came as Trump's position, on everything from tariffs on strollers and movies to whether his administration even wants to strike such global deals, appeared to shift by the hour.
Firms across the world have been trying to come to terms with the rapid rate of presidential kneejerks: where policies can be announced, adjusted and shelved as quickly as the leader of the free world can publish a social media post.
[Updated on June 4, 2025]
One of the many problems with the policy surrounding Donald Trump's trade tariffs is there doesn't appear to be much of a policy. The president certainly makes all kinds of announcements, but in literally dozens of instances, they're followed by revised announcements and reversals.
On an international scale, no one — business owners, consumers, investors, foreign officials, et al. — seems to have any idea what to expect from the White House, and for good reason: The entire agenda is an erratic mess, shaped by an unpredictable and inexperienced politician with a limited understanding of the underlying dynamics.
Two stories in the news this week raise the question of who is currently in charge of the world's most powerful country, the United States.
First, there's the Wall Street Journal piece about how the U.S. government does not believe Israel's claim that Iran is moving forward with an attempt to build a nuclear weapon (...) In a similar vein, there is the Washington Post's new report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have told agents to "continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants." This reverses a directive not to target those venues that was itself issued last week, after Trump posted on his Truth Social site that ICE would back off farms and hotels because "very good, long time workers" were being detained. Compounding the confusion, the (new) Post report notes that the directive that was issued because of Trump's post has been overruled because "the White House did not support it." Who runs the White House? I thought it was the president!
Trump has ordered a number of sweeping tariffs driving up costs of imports, but he has threatened far more tariffs than he has carried out, leading some to embrace "TACO theory."
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that American and Chinese negotiators in London have struck a deal to avert the trade war he had been stoking against Beijing since returning to office in January.
In an early-morning, all-caps post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the deal was "done" pending a "final approval" by him and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Trump on Wednesday hailed the result of the latest trade talks with China as a great victory, but the best we can say is that it's a truce that tilts in China's direction.
Rupert Murdoch-owned the Wall Street Journal ridiculed President Donald Trump's half-baked trade "deal" with China, calling it a "truce that tilts in China's direction" after months of wavering back and forth.
