TACO in Chief: Trump Always Chickens Out
TACO: Trump Always Chickens Out. That’s not just a meme bouncing around Wall Street and political social media posts. It’s a governing philosophy. A life strategy. A survival tactic for a man who’s never once stood firm when the spotlight threatened to expose him.
Bone Spurs and Cowardice: The Original TACO Combo
Let’s start with the feet. Not the ones he puts in his mouth. The ones with the infamous “bone spurs” that got Donald Trump out of serving in Vietnam. While other young Americans put on boots and answered the call of duty, Trump answered a different call, from his father’s podiatrist.
With five deferments and a phantom foot problem that never kept him off a golf course, Trump chickened out. It was his first documented TACO move: talk tough, then disappear when it’s time to do something hard. And he’s been doing it ever since.
He Chickens Out of Marriage, Too
Let’s take a stroll through his personal life, which reads like a roadmap of self-interest. He said “I do” to Ivana, but when the marriage got inconvenient, he chickened out and latched onto Marla Maples. Rinse, repeat. He married Marla, chickened out again, and jumped to Melania.
But while Melania was recovering from childbirth, Trump couldn’t even keep the vows he’d barely finished reciting. He chickened out of fidelity, chickened out of decency, and landed in a hush money scandal with a porn star. This isn’t a man who sticks with anything but his own reflection. When commitment gets uncomfortable, he chickens out. Every time.
From Pro-Choice to Chickening Out for the Base
Once upon a time, Trump said he was “very pro-choice.” That was before he decided he wanted to run as a Republican. So he chickened out of that position, because telling the truth was less important than courting the votes of far-right evangelicals.
He started parroting anti-abortion talking points like he’d been saying them his whole life, even though we all know the only time Donald Trump cared about pregnancy was when it threatened to cost him money. He didn’t evolve. He didn’t reflect. He chickened out, plain and simple, to protect his image and secure the base.
Crypto: From Scam to Self-Enrichment
He used to say cryptocurrency was a scam. “It’s fake,” he warned. “Dangerous.” But then he realized he could slap his name on a coin and make a buck. Suddenly he’s launching Trump-themed NFTs and cozying up to blockchain bros.
He chickened out of his anti-crypto stance not because the tech changed, but because he saw an opportunity to grift a new demographic. That’s how TACO works: Trump chickens out the moment principle threatens profit.
The Cabinet of “Best People” (Until He Chickens Out)
He promised us “the best people.” Then he chickened out on all of them.
Rex Tillerson? “One of the truly great business leaders of the world,” Trump said. But when Rex wouldn’t bend the knee, Trump called him “dumb as a rock.”
John Bolton? “He’s a tough cookie.” Then he became “a wacko” the second he refused to lie for Trump.
Jeff Sessions? “A man of integrity,” Trump told us, right before trashing him as “mentally retarded” and “scared stiff” for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, as the law required.
Mike Pence? His own Vice President. Trump gushed about his loyalty until January 6, 2021, when Pence refused to help overturn the election. Then Trump fed him to the mob.
Every time one of his handpicked people acted with a shred of independence or legality, Trump chickened out of their friendship. He flipped from praise to insult, because loyalty with Trump is a one-way street. When reality shows up, he runs the other direction.
Tariffs, Trade, and More Chickening Out
And now, in 2025, we’re watching the tariff TACO play out in real time. One day, Trump wakes up and slaps unilateral tariffs on China. “They need us more than we need them,” he blusters. Wall Street tanks. Consumer prices rise. American manufacturers panic. Then—surprise—he chickens out. Reverses course. Blames the media. Pretends it never happened.
He did it with Mexico. He did it with the EU. He even chickened out of punishing Saudi Arabia for killing a journalist because, in his words, “they buy a lot of stuff from us.” It wasn’t policy. It was cowardice dressed as diplomacy.
He talks like a brawler. But the second there’s pushback from donors, CEOs, or polling, he folds. The only thing Trump is consistent about is chickening out when the stakes get real.
More TACO Moments Worth Remembering
He chickened out of releasing his taxes. Said he would, then didn’t. Because transparency might expose how deep the con really goes.
He chickened out of condemning white supremacists. “Stand back and stand by” wasn’t a slip, it was a wink to the base he doesn’t dare offend.
He chickened out of COVID briefings when things got too hard and handed the mic to chaos.
He chickened out of accepting the results of an election he lost. And to this day, he continues to chicken out of responsibility for January 6.
Why This Matters
This isn’t about flip-flops. It’s not about evolving views. This is about a man who, time and again, puts his own ego and self-interest ahead of the truth, the law, and the country. He chickens out of hard choices, ducks out of accountability, and pivots to whatever lie or fantasy will win him applause in the moment.
We’re not dealing with a leader. We’re dealing with a performance artist who’s terrified of reality. And every time he chickens out, the country takes the hit, economically, diplomatically, morally.
Final Thoughts: No More Chickening Out
Donald Trump has chickened out of every serious responsibility he’s ever faced. From war to truth. From ethics to governance. From justice to democracy.
And now he’s back in office, playing the same old TACO game while the rest of us try to hold on to what’s left of our Constitution, our credibility, and our communities.
If we don’t call it what it is, he’ll keep doing it. If we don’t vote like our future depends on it, he’ll keep getting away with it.
Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links
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