Almost a year ago, it was reported that some on Wall Street had begun using an acronym for President Trump, TACO, which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” It had various applications, from tariffs to threats related to foreign policy, but it was often used to describe Trump’s tendency to issue belligerent threats and then back off. Some traders have factored the likelihood of Trump backing down into their trading decisions.
Trump has been known to get angry when asked about the “TACO” nickname.
Now, the president has a new nickname on Wall Street, at least according to one trader.
We thought we were getting a TACO
“Trump Always Chickens Out”
But so far we are getting a NACHO
“Not A Chance Hormuz Opens”
(With appreciation to the trader who told me)
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) April 29, 2026
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Bloomberg News columnist Javier Blas said on X this week that instead of TACO, Wall Street has been throwing around the acronym NACHO, for “Not A Chance Hormuz Opens.” The Strait of Hormuz was closed, as a result of the war in Iran, and diplomatic efforts have not succeeded, so far, in re-opening it. This has led to skyrocketing gas prices.
There are even some alternative, also involving Mexican foods:
or is it FAJITAS 🤔
Failure
At
Jostling
Iran
Towards
A
Settlement— Robert Alpen (@Alpen_R) April 29, 2026
Economist Paul Krugman wrote about NACHO on Substack, and he made it clear he’s more of a believer in NACHO than in TACO.
“I never bought into the TACO meme, which was initially about tariffs: Trump did not, in fact, reverse his destructive tariff policy, although he blinked in his confrontation with China. But NACHO looks right. Hormuz won’t open until the economic damage from its closure becomes much more severe,” Krugman wrote. “Realistically, the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is for both sides to stand down — for Iran to lift its de facto embargo on shipping through the Strait, while the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian shipping.”
“Trump’s ego is so fragile that he can never admit losing,” Krugman wrote. “He cannot bear to face up to the reality that he, more or less single-handedly, led America to the greatest strategic defeat in its history. So he desperately wants to extract concessions from Iran that would lend him a fig leaf and allow him to claim victory.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
