"Trump Always Chickens Out" — President Trump slams reporter who reveals the meaning behind his 'TACO' nickname

President Donald Trump allowed his temper to get the better of him during a White House press conference on May 28. A reporter began with the questions the president fielded from the press corps by asking the President-Elect about the "TACO trade" moniker his tariff plan has reportedly garnered on Wall Street.

The reporter asked,

"They're saying 'Trump Always Chickens Out' on the tariff threats and that's why markets are higher this week. What's your response to that?"

The President, visibly taken aback by the question, gathered himself before firing back. According to People, he said,

"We have an end date of July 9. You call that chickening out?”

He continued,

"Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead. We had a country, people didn't think it was gonna survive. And you ask a nasty question like that? Don't ever say what you said. That's a nasty question."

The originally orchestrated plan was to enact 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union on June 1. After European markets responded with due panic, the negotiation deadline was temporarily given a stay until July 9.

President Trump and the media

President Trump has had several run-ins with journalists and media members dating back to his time on television on his hit show The Apprentice. His contentious relationship with the press has been apparent of late, especially when considering his recent April interaction with ABC News' Terry Moran.

Moran was questioning Trump about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025. Moran attempted to point out that the image Trump was using to show that Kilmar had "MS-13" tattooed on his knuckles was doctored, which then prompted the President to go on a tirade in which he first attacked Moran personally, before going after the sanctity of media coverage.

“Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. I picked you because... Frankly, I had never heard of you, but that’s okay. But I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice. This is why people no longer believe the news, because it’s fake news. You do such a disservice. Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and you know, go on to something else?” Trump said.

These types of knee-jerk outbursts were apparent during his first Presidential term as well, where he had many spats with members of the press. In one incident following his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election with Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason, Trump snapped on being repeatedly asked if he would accept the Electoral College results.

"Don't talk to me that way. You're just a lightweight. Don't talk to me that way," Trump said. "Don't talk to — I'm the president of the United States. Don't ever talk to the president that way."

President Trump’s relationship with tech mogul Elon Musk has also been in the news lately. Musk has been vocal in his disapproval of Trump’s recently passed bill, and has left his responsibilities with DOGE and the White House to focus on other affairs.

Also, there are building tensions between the Trump administration and several universities like Harvard. The President has been vocal with this criticism of Harvard's international student percentage and his administration has threatened to cut federal funding due to DEI disputes and pro-Palestinian protests. Harvard has vehemently resisted, which has led to several lawsuits focusing on academic autonomy.

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