Wall Street Dubs Trump with a New Moniker: NACHO
President Donald Trump’s ongoing negotiations with Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz have birthed a fresh nickname, one that flips the script on his previous moniker, TACO, which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
“We anticipated a TACO, but instead, we’re getting a NACHO—‘Not A Chance Hormuz Opens,’” Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas shared on X, highlighting the sentiment among traders.
This new label, originating from a Wall Street trader, encapsulates widespread frustration over the inconsistent blockade in the Strait, a critical passageway for global oil that has led to rising gas prices.
Confidence in Trump’s ability to broker a deal with Iran appears shaky, as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to escalate. Despite a ceasefire, Iran has effectively closed the waterway while the U.S. has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Iran has signaled willingness to reopen the Strait if the U.S. lifts its blockade, yet Trump remains firm, demanding concessions on Iran’s nuclear program.
Previous peace talks involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran have faltered, with a recent round of negotiations collapsing when Trump recalled his top negotiators to Washington.
The impact of these developments is palpable; gas prices nationwide have surged due to disruptions in the Strait, which accounts for approximately 20 percent of the world’s crude oil supply. Earlier this month marked a significant moment as the average price for a gallon of regular gas reached $4 for the first time since August 2022.
The NACHO nickname is a direct evolution from “TACO,” which has been used to critique Trump’s tendency to issue threats without follow-through. The term “TACO” was first coined by a Financial Times columnist who noted Trump’s pattern of making tariff threats that disrupt markets only to retract them later.
Wall Street traders have adopted “TACO” to describe their strategy of buying stocks following Trump’s tariff announcements and selling them once those threats are rescinded.
In response to the new nickname, White House Spokesperson Kush Desai questioned the intelligence of those who doubted Trump’s ability to secure drug pricing deals or renegotiate trade agreements.
When confronted with the TACO label last year, Trump dismissed it as “the nastiest question” and refuted claims of backing down.
“I chicken out? Oh, I’ve never heard that,” he asserted, framing his approach as “called negotiation.”
In an attempt to reclaim the narrative, Trump’s allies on Fox News proposed their own interpretation of NACHO—“Never Avoids Confronting Hard Obstacles”—but this version has not gained traction.
