From TACO to FAFO: Investors React to Trump’s Economic Policies with New Acronyms
- On May 30, 2025, President Donald Trump spoke to the media in Washington, D.C., after returning from Pennsylvania amid growing investor use of four-letter acronyms linked to his trade policies.
- These acronyms, including TACO, FAFO, and MEGA, arose from Trump's repeated threats and subsequent withdrawals of trade tariffs, which have unsettled markets and spurred investor slang.
- TACO, meaning 'Trump Always Chickens Out' and coined by Robert Armstrong, reflects Trump's pattern of imposing tariffs then pausing policies that initially caused historic market lows but later rebounds.
- Reuters and market analysts report acronyms like FAFO, standing for 'F*** around and find out' or 'Make America Go Away,' circulate on trading desks, with Mark Dowding noting MEGA trades now replace MAGA trades.
- This trend highlights market volatility linked to Trump's policymaking, described as a 'pinball machine' by CIO Mark Spindel, and suggests shifting investor sentiment amid ongoing uncertainties.
31 Articles
31 Articles
When do the ‘primal, profit-driven forces of nature’—racked with buyer’s remorse—dethrone or defang MAGA Trumpism?
If you credit mass buyers’ remorse by hoodwinked MAGA voters, that goes double for flabbergasted tycoons once open to disruption (and donor payoffs) but now bullied by the allegedly pro-business browbeater.
The stock market rally has gained a new acronym to find its way into the stock market lexicon. Taco, or “Trump always chickens out.”
The American Dream Died by Suicide
Sometimes it seems as if President Trump’s trade agenda is built upon nothing more than pure ego. The recent buzz among Wall Street traders was the TACO meme—“Trump always chickens out” on tariffs. It got under the president’s skin, and two days later he went ahead and doubled tariffs on imported steel. Cause and effect? In this administration, you can never tell.But beneath the chaos and the antics, MAGA economics are built on a powerful, endur…
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