Trump Clashes with Reporter Over Tariff Nickname
President Donald Trump is known for his combative press conferences—but on May 28, it was a reporter who threw the first punch.
Now in his second term, Trump has rolled out aggressive executive orders and global tariffs that shook the stock market, affecting major companies like Walmart and Apple. Although markets dipped, they soon recovered, with traders crediting what they dubbed “T.A.C.O.”—“Trump Always Chickens Out.”
The nickname, coined by Financial Times journalist Robert Armstrong, mocks Trump’s habit of making bold tariff threats only to back down. CNBC’s Megan Casella brought it up at a White House press conference, asking Trump for his response.
Trump didn’t take it well.
Initially confused, he bristled when Casella clarified the phrase. “That’s a nasty question,” he snapped, defending his negotiation tactics and warning, “Don’t ever say what you said.”
The clash echoed another exchange on May 20, when Trump told a NOTUS journalist questioning his political influence to “get yourself a real job.”
Trump’s second term shows no signs of softening his stance toward the press—or his critics.