Critics erupt as Trump extends Iran ceasefire in latest 'TACO' moment

President Donald Trump extended his two-week ceasefire in the war against Iran, prompting widespread mockery for him pulling another ‘TACO Tuesday’ — that is, “‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ Tuesday.”On Bluesky, the account Mueller, She Wrote (owner of Muller, She Wrote media) framed the extension with dark comedy, joking that Trump was merely delaying "ethnic cleansing and war crimes again." Journalist Nick Turse wrote "It's TACO Tuesday, again" adding parenthetically "And that's a good thing." An account identifying its owner as an Army veteran echoed Turse’s opinion by similarly writing "Yep, Taco Tuesday!" On X, the popular account Republicans Against Trump posted the news alongside a single word: "TACO." Democratic strategist Christopher Webb deployed sarcasm on X, writing "Don't you dare call Trump TACO!"Mainstream media outlets are joining in the social media ridicule against Trump. The UK Independent announced the ceasefire news with the headline “Trump extends ceasefire deadline with Iran in latest example of ‘TACO’.”“The president’s latest walk-back of his threats to resume the U.S. air campaign against Tehran comes less than a day after he told CNBC he was not inclined to agree to any extension of the ceasefire,” the Independent wrote. The Daily Beast, which Trump has repeatedly criticized, ran as their ceasefire headline “TACO Trump Gives Iran an Indefinite Ceasefire.” Trump has previously been accused of “chickening out” when it comes to the Iran war. Shortly after he walked back his vow to commit genocide against Iran earlier this month by claiming Iran had reached a deal, talk show host Kyle Kulinski posted on X that “Trump TACO hits. Any minute now Iran will say they didn’t agree to anything at all. Genocidal threats and war profiteering market manipulation. Get this man THE F--- OUT OF THE OVAL OFFICE & INTO PRISON.”Journalist Tara Palmeri, pointing out that Trump used Pakistan’s diplomatic overtures as an excuse for backing off, joked that “so Trump is ordering Pakistan to make him a TACO, but definitely do it, please.”The term “TACO” does not only apply to Trump’s foreign policy, but also his tariff policy, as he frequently threatens to impose high tariffs and then reverses course. Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator at the Financial Times, wrote last year that one can understand Trump’s approach to his presidency by his “TACO” approach to both foreign and tariff policy."'Taco' is not just a useful heuristic for investors. It also turns out to be a key to analysing Trump’s foreign policy," he wrote. "As Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations points out in a recent paper, Trump enjoys issuing blood-curdling threats of the use of force. But he very rarely follows through. In his first term in office, Trump famously threatened North Korea with 'fire and fury' and also mused about the possibility of wiping Afghanistan 'off the face of the earth' within 10 days."He added, "And what happened? He entered into negotiations with North Korea about its nuclear programme. When the talks ultimately failed, they were followed not with fire and fury, but with amnesia. North Korea has accelerated its nuclear weapons programme over the past five years. Trump seems to have forgotten about the problem."He later pointed out, “Trump uses threats and force much like a playground bully: while large and outwardly powerful, he actually fears the use of force in any situation even vaguely resembling a fair fight . . . Actual violence only occurs against much weaker foes that have no hope of striking back.” Ultimately, he unfavorably contrasted Trump’s “chickening out” with the approach of one of his Republican predecessors."The current president seems to have inverted Teddy Roosevelt’s famous maxim about speaking softly and carrying a big stick. Trump prefers to shout loudly, while brandishing a pencil," Rachman wrote.