'Striking contrast': Expert says Trump's viral new nickname about more than just economy

Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator at the Financial Times, wrote in an article published Monday that President Donald Trump's new nickname — "Trump Always Chickens Out" (TACO), a mocking label used by Wall Street investors — applies not only to his tariff policy but also to his foreign policy.

"'Taco' is not just a useful heuristic for investors. It also turns out to be a key to analysing Trump’s foreign policy," he wrote.

The journalist continued: "As Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations points out in a recent paper, Trump enjoys issuing blood-curdling threats of the use of force. But he very rarely follows through. In his first term in office, Trump famously threatened North Korea with 'fire and fury' and also mused about the possibility of wiping Afghanistan 'off the face of the earth' within 10 days."

"And what happened? He entered into negotiations with North Korea about its nuclear programme. When the talks ultimately failed, they were followed not with fire and fury, but with amnesia. North Korea has accelerated its nuclear weapons programme over the past five years. Trump seems to have forgotten about the problem."

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Rachman further noted that Trump agreed to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan without securing significant commitments from the Taliban, which contributed to the eventual collapse of Kabul under the Biden administration.

The economic analyst highlighted that across both of Trump’s terms in office, Shapiro has identified 22 instances where Trump threatened military force, but only two where he actually followed through.

Rachman also highlighted Shapiro's comments that, “Trump uses threats and force much like a playground bully: while large and outwardly powerful, he actually fears the use of force in any situation even vaguely resembling a fair fight . . . Actual violence only occurs against much weaker foes that have no hope of striking back.”

But Rachman sees a "striking contrast" between what he calls Trump's "tough-guy rhetoric" and his "real-world caution."

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"The current president seems to have inverted Teddy Roosevelt’s famous maxim about speaking softly and carrying a big stick. Trump prefers to shout loudly, while brandishing a pencil," he said.

Further, the author observed that just one day after being asked the “TACO” question — which seemed to irritate him — Trump raised U.S. tariffs on foreign steel to 50 percent.

"It is rarely a good idea to mock a bully. Countries that suspect Trump’s ferocious threats won’t amount to much, would probably do best to keep that thought to themselves," he wrote.

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