Trump Responds To 'TACO' Meme During A White House Press Briefing: 'You Call That Chickening?'

An exchange between President Donald Trump and a reporter at a White House press briefing has gone viral on social media, after the latter confronted him on a Wall Street “meme” that is gaining traction, the so-called “TACO Trade.”

What Happened: On Wednesday, The Kobeissi Letter posted a video snippet of Trump’s recent interaction with the White House press, where he was asked about the new term coined by Wall Street, the TACO trade, or the “Trump Always Chickens Out Trade.”

The TACO trade is essentially a tongue-in-cheek strategy where investors buy stocks right after Trump makes fresh tariff threats, knowing fully well that he won’t follow through with them, thus leading the markets to bounce back.

“You can't make this up: A reporter just asked President Trump about the ‘TACO' (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade,” the post says, featuring the snippet that shows the entire conversation between Trump and the reporter.

Trump’s response was swift, in defense of his past tariff moves, citing the examples involving China and the European Union. He says he brought down tariffs on China from 145%, after asking them to “open up your whole country.”

Regarding the EU, Trump says that his decision to slap 50% tariffs on the region led officials to urgently request negotiations. “They said ‘Please, let's meet right now,'” adding that he set the deadline for talks after confirming their willingness. Trump then asks, “You call that chickening?”

Why It Matters: Several other economists and market experts have called out Trump’s backing off from tall claims and threats in recent weeks.

Economist Nouriel Roubini said last week that it was Trump who “chickened out” in the trade war with China, while calling Xi Jinping the “clear winner” on the tariff rollback.

Roubini had also mentioned over a month ago that the entire situation surrounding Trump’s tariffs was like a “three-way game of chicken” between Trump, Xi Jinping, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He went on to predict that it will be Trump who blinks first.

In recent months, dip buying by retail investors has hit whole new levels, with $15 billion making its way into the markets every day, according to Morgan Stanley MS.

This can be attributed to the very same phenomenon, retail investors expect Trump to either backtrack on his statements, or ease back on the timelines.

Last week, the co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, Tom Lee, made a statement saying “Congrats to those ‘buying the dip,'” signaling his approval of the strategy.

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