President Trump isn’t known for backing down, and CNBC reporter Megan Casella learned that the hard way after trying to hit him with a schoolyard-style insult disguised as a question. Moments after a swearing-in ceremony for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Casella lobbed what she clearly thought was a zinger: “Wall Street analysts have coined a term called the ‘TACO trade.’ They’re saying that Trump always chickens out on his tariff threats.”
That acronym—“Trump Always Chickens Out”—was coined by the Financial Times in a failed attempt to portray the president as weak on trade. Casella seemed eager to score points by repeating it to Trump’s face. But if she expected the president to flinch, she miscalculated badly.
🚨 TRUMP FAKE NEWS SMACKDOWN: He has to explain Art of the Deal over and over again!
REPORTER: People say, 'Trump always chickens out on his tariffs.'
TRUMP: "You ask a nasty question like that? It's called NEGOTIATION."
"Don't ever say what you said. That's a NASTY question."… pic.twitter.com/JN0ehIEIa5
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 28, 2025
Trump let it rip.
“I chickened out? I’ve never heard that,” he said, smirking. “You mean because I reduced China from 145 percent that I set down to 100, then down to another number? And I said, ‘You have to open your whole country?’”
He didn’t stop there.
Trump reminded the press that after slapping a 50% tariff on the European Union, they were the ones begging for talks. “They called up and they said, ‘Please, let’s meet right now,’” he recounted. “And I said, OK, I’ll give you until… July 9th?”
He hammered home the contrast between his record and the disaster he inherited from Biden. “We have $14 trillion now invested, committed to investing, when Biden didn’t have practically anything. This country was dying.”
Trump, ever the negotiator, explained the point that his critics missed entirely: tariffs aren’t meant to be permanent. “You set a number… if I set a number at a ridiculously high number and go down a little bit, they want me to hold that number, 145 percent tariff,” he said. “It’s called negotiation.”
The president then laid down the final blow: “But don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question.”
Casella later tried to spin the dressing-down as a win, calling it a “badge of honor.” But the video of the exchange tells a different story: she got steamrolled in front of the press pool by a president who isn’t playing games.
The so-called “TACO trade” narrative was always weak sauce. Trump’s tariff strategy has worked: massive new investment, revitalized manufacturing, and a reshaped global trade landscape that benefits American workers. Liberals can throw around childish acronyms, but Trump is racking up actual wins.
More importantly, this moment was a reminder that the legacy media’s tired tactics don’t work on Trump. He’s not just defending his policies—he’s exposing the press’s bad faith in real time.
So if the media wants to keep lobbing insults, they might want to bring more than weak acronyms and recycled talking points. Because this president is ready—and more than willing—to fire back.
