Should "Taco Trump" Be on the Democrats' Message Menu?

A cautionary note on a very funny meme

I want to begin by apologizing for that cringey but hopefully clicky headline. I’m not proud — but it’s tough out here in the content streets.

After months of research, endless planning meetings, and painful trial and error, Democrats have finally settled on an anti-Trump message:

T.A.C.O.

As you probably know by now, “TACO” stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined the term to describe Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs. It quickly gained popularity on Wall Street and entered the national discourse afterwhen Trump threw a temper tantrum after being asked about it during a press availability in the Oval Office.

In the last week, Democrats across the ideological spectrum have embraced “Taco Trump” as a message. In just the last week:

• Governor Gavin Newsom responded to court rulings restricting Trump’s tariff authority by saying, “It’s raining tacos.”

• Representative Eric Swalwell posted a now-viral video on TikTok.

• The Democratic National Committee parked a taco truck outside the RNC headquarters, featuring an image of Trump in a chicken suit.

And it’s not just elected officials. Progressive activists and content creators have joined in, making the taco emoji omnipresent across social media.

This is a rare moment when Democrats are unified on a message — and aggressively pushing it on every platform. They’re being nimble, aggressive, and opportunistic — something that’s been seriously lacking throughout much of Trump 2.0.

But is “Taco Trump” the right message?

I’m not so sure.

The goal of this newsletter is to provide data-driven messaging advice to people at all levels of politics, from candidates to people trying to persuade folks in the family group chat. If you want to support this work, please consider upgrading your subscription.

The Case For It

In the interest of fairness, here are three arguments in favor of Taco Trump before I lay out my concerns.

1. It’s Fun.
These are tough times to be a Democrat (and an American). We deserve a little fun. And the taco stuff is fun. There’s value in making politics feel less dour. Not every message needs to poll in the 99th percentile for efficacy. Seeming less likeDemocrats not seeming like hall monitors is good for Democrats’our deeply damaged brand. Sometimes we overthink these things. Much like the coconut memes of 2024,t Taco content gets attention — especially online, where our message is often drowned out by Trump and his allies.

2. It Drives Trump Bananas.
Being called a chicken clearly bothers Trump. That fact alone might justify pushing the message. Sure, the schadenfreude is satisfying, but there may be a strategic upside too. Trump also makes mistakes when he feels insecure. He loses focus, lashes out, and exacerbates his own problems. I’m hateusually not a fan of building strategy around his reactions, but there’s a case for it — this was essentially the Lincoln Project’s playbook in 2020.

3. It Undermines Trump’s Strongman Brand.
Strength and toughness are core to Trump’s political identity. He’s convinced enough voters that he’s the only one strong enough to protect them — so they overlook his behavior. The best way to beat a wannabe strongman is to make him look weak. There’s real value in portraying Trump as a wimp who won’t stand up to Putin, Xi, or even his own advisors.

The Case Against It

There’s a fundamental flaw in the Taco Trump strategy: it risks helping Trump avoid accountability for one of his most unpopular policies.

Tariffs are deeply unpopular. A Navigator Research poll from early June found that just 30% of voters support Trump’s tariffs. Nearly three in ten Republicans oppose them.

The same poll showed that half of Americans believe tariffs are raising their costs. The intense focus on tariffs in April and May correlated with a dip in Trump’s approval rating.

But now that Trump has mostly “Taco-ed” his way out of the most damaging tariffs, his numbers are creeping back up.

Here’s the problem: we want voters to associate higher costs and economic anxiety with Trump’s tariffs. But the takeaway from the Taco Trump campaign —for many people casually following the news—is that Trump got rid of the tariffs.

That’s the opposite of what we want.

MYou and I know that many of Trump’s tariffs are still in place, and they’re contributing to rising prices and economic volatility. But for the majority of Americans who skim headlines or get their news via social media, the message they’re absorbing is that Trump backed off. That makes him look less responsible for the economic pain.

That seems counterproductive.

I don’t want to overstate this. No one’s putting “Taco Trump” in TV ads (yet). Candidates aren’t running on it (yet). Like I said, I don’t want to overthink what might just be a fun little summer messaging fling.

But it’s at least worth asking: Does this actually help us?