First TACO, and now NACHO. The acronyms created for a snappy way to denigrate President Trump’s actions are starting to sound like a menu.
By now, Americans might be used to the idea of TACO, or “Trump always chickens out.” Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined the term in May 2025 to describe how investors could anticipate market rebounds, even as Trump announced (and took back) tariffs. The strategy was to buy into the market after a tariff announcement, with the expectation that Trump would call it off soon after.
Nearly two months into the war in Iran, some might be wondering if this is a TACO Trump situation. The ongoing ceasefire hasn’t done much to alleviate disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about 20% of the world’s oil shipments. Trump has given Iran a series of ultimatums to reopen the strait, pushing back before the deadline each time.
But with tensions and oil prices rising, the acronym floating around social media is now NACHO—not TACO.
The new acronym stands for “Not a chance Hormuz opens,” Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas posted on X, crediting the trader who told him about the term. (On April 29, Trump indicated that he was prepared to continue blockading Iranian ports for several months.)
While backronyms have been increasingly popular in government lately—take a look at Trump suggesting rebranding ICE to NICE—the White House has unsurprisingly not looked favorably on either the terms TACO or NACHO. In a media conference last year, Trump called it “nasty” when a reporter asked him about TACO.
And, as reported by USA Today, when asked about the new NACHO acronym, White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded: “Are these the same geniuses who thought President Trump would never secure voluntary most-favored-nation drug pricing deals or renegotiate broken trade deals?”
