Democrats seized on a pair of court rulings this week that invalidated former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, mocking him with a series of taco-themed jabs tied to a Wall Street acronym critical of his trade strategy.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, speaking on the MeidasTouch podcast Thursday, reacted to the decisions by quipping, “It’s raining tacos today,” adding that “it’s not a good day for Donald Trump and his central economic program.”
The joke was a nod to the acronym “TACO,” used by some Wall Street analysts to refer to Trump’s perceived tendency to backtrack on tough trade talk. The acronym stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out” and has been referenced in financial circles to criticize the former president’s unpredictable trade policy.
Several Democrats joined Newsom in deriding Trump’s handling of tariffs following the court decisions.
“This is the most substantial move for our economy, for our prosperity,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis told Politico.
Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY) added, “It’s interesting watching the president flail around here; he proposes tariffs and then he backs off.”
Jon Cooper, a former campaign chair for President Barack Obama, also weighed in online. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he celebrated the court ruling with a satirical poem titled “Trump Always Chickens Out (Tariff Remix),” referring to the former president as “#TacoTrump.”
The mockery followed two major legal setbacks for Trump’s tariff agenda.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the former president exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 when he imposed tariffs in April. The court said the law does not grant the president “unbounded authority” in trade matters.
A second ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia followed on Thursday. Judge Rudolph Contreras concluded that Trump’s emergency justification “does not authorize the President to impose the tariffs set forth.”
The Trump administration has appealed both decisions. A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated the tariffs while it considers whether to grant a stay pending further litigation. That decision applies only to the ruling from the Court of International Trade.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump denounced the rulings and the judges involved.
“Radical Left Judges, together with some very bad people, are destroying America,” Trump wrote. “Under this decision, Trillions of Dollars would be lost by our Country, money that will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
He added: “It would be the harshest financial ruling ever leveled on us as a Sovereign Nation. The President of the United States must be allowed to protect America against those that are doing it Economic and Financial harm.”