President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iranian civilization unless it capitulated to American demands on Tuesday morning, then walked back his pledge on Tuesday evening — continuing his “Trump Always Chickens Out” (TACO) pattern, which many on social media quickly pointed out.
"After promising to destroy Iran, Trump agrees to a ‘TACO Tuesday’ two-week ceasefire,” wrote AF Post shortly after Trump’s Iran announcement. Similarly an account called “Republicans Against Trump” pointed out the president’s convenient flip-flop.
"BREAKING: Donald Trump agrees to suspend U.S. bombing of Iran for two weeks, ‘This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!’” the account posted. “TACO.”
Similarly Kyle Kulinski, a talk show host, immediately drew attention to Trump’s vacillating on his vow to commit genocide against Iran.
“Trump TACO hits,” Kulinski posted on X. “Any minute now Iran will say they didn’t agree to anything at all. Genocidal threats and war profiteering market manipulation. Get this man THE F--- OUT OF THE OVAL OFFICE & INTO PRISON.”
Another X user, who goes by Ross Hendricks, described how he believes Trump’s TACO tactics in Iran will negatively impact gas prices.
“For those who care… I’m officially out of the long #oil trade,” Hendricks wrote. “Had a good run, bought many dips on endless TACO headlines, but this one feels different. Stakes are simply too high for Trump not to TACO here. As always, I could be wrong and maybe we’re headed for $200. But the easy money has been made IMO and Im happy to simply watch from the sidelines”
Journalist Tara Palmeri, noting how Trump used Pakistan’s diplomatic overtures as a pretense for backing off on his threat, used that fact to make a culinary pun off of Trump’s reversal.
“So Trump is ordering Pakistan to make him a TACO, but definitely do it, please,” Palmeri wrote. Perhaps thinking of the same fears that motivated Trump to back down, X user Oliver Alexander posted about how the president may have still inspired violence despite his reversal.
“Iran waiting until the second Trump posts his TACO ceasefire on Truth Social to launch a ballistic missile volleyball at Israel is peak 2026,” Oliver wrote.
Earlier this month ABC's Kathryn Diss pointed out that Trump’s TACO strategy, though seemingly able to extract concessions from Iran, could have blowback in the long term.
"As someone who tends to shoot from the hip, it is conceivable to imagine that Mr. Trump didn't fully comprehend the global impact his threat would have," Diss said. "Or perhaps he even thought that Iran would back down."
Diss added: "The Hormuz crisis, which has crippled global energy markets, has become a key issue preventing Mr. Trump from ending the war. With global energy markets reeling, it's likely the president's advisors informed him that carrying through on the ultimatum could send markets spiralling further, causing global chaos. And this is something Donald Trump doesn't want."
Former Republican consultant Rick Wilson shared a similar observation earlier in April.
"Have we reached the point where the TACO trick only works if he actually TACOs, you know?” Wilson explained. “And he hasn't. He's still going all in on this war."
