The question arose during a press conference where the President of the United States (POTUS) announced elevated tariff rates for several nations. Just a month ago, he had another intense exchange during an interview with a different journalist.
President Donald Trump’s press conference took place at the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, May 28. There, he announced further tariffs—on top of the baseline 10% tariff for all nations—on almost all of the U.S.’s trading partners.
During the event, a reporter raised this question, “Mr. President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the ‘TACO Trade.’ They’re saying ‘Trump always chickens out’ on the tariff threats and that’s why markets are higher this week. What’s your response to that?”
The president replied that he had never heard of the term and speculated if it emerged after significantly reducing his previous 145% tariff on China. He went on to explain that after placing a 50% tariff on the European Union, the supranational entity agreed to meet with him—despite being initially unwilling.
“I actually asked them, ‘What’s the date?’ Because they weren’t willing to meet. And after I did what I did, they said, ‘We’ll meet anytime you want.’ And we have an end date of July 9th. You call that chickening out?” he said to the reporter.
Trump then pivoted criticizing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, saying “this country was stone cold dead” during the final stretch of Biden’s term. “This country was dying. You know we have the hottest country anywhere in the world,” he added, referring to the U.S.’s current economic state.
At the end of his response, he scolded the reporter, “Don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question. To me, that’s the nastiest question.”
The tariffs he announced during the conference include a 34% increased tax on all Chinese imports and 20% on those from the European Union. This move—if fully implemented—could further destabilize the global economy and trigger larger trade wars, according to The Associated Press.
Trump has long maintained that the tariffs he has introduced were designed to boost domestic manufacturing, and promised factory jobs would return as a result of these tax hikes.
The president said he aims to bring hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue into the U.S. and restore global fairness, after claiming “our country [was] been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered” by other nations.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years. But it is not going to happen anymore,” he said. However, experts warn that his policies could trigger a sudden economic slowdown, as price hikes loom over businesses and consumers.
In fact, earlier this month, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced that consumers can expect price increases as Trump’s tariffs have driven up company costs.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” he said.
