Trump critics go from outrage over Iran threat to mocking him as 'chicken' for not following through

Several prominent critics of President Donald Trump have suggested he chickened out for not committing what they initially insisted were war crimes against the Iranian people. 

Prominent liberals, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC), have used the acronym TACO for "Trump Always Chickens Out" to provoke Trump's ire. The phrase was first coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump's tariff policies, suggesting Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in 2025. 

On Tuesday morning, Trump critics rushed to social media to denounce the president's threat against Iran that an entire "civilization will die tonight," with many suggesting he wanted to commit "genocide" and others calling for the 25th Amendment. 

By that evening, Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, allowing both sides to continue to negotiate without further military action. But rather than celebrating that a "genocide" wouldn't take place, various Trump critics dusted off the TACO acronym. 

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ABC's Jimmy Kimmel opened his program Tuesday by condemning Trump's threat, with the liberal late-night host telling viewers he's "against civilizations being annihilated" before mocking the decision not to follow through with it. 

"So, all day today, everyone, most notably the people of Iran, were wondering if their civilization was going to die tonight. Well, good news, it didn't. It was the Taco Tuesday of all Taco Tuesdays," Kimmel said. 

"He decided not to drop the chalupa for at least another two weeks," Kimmel continued. "This is how it goes, every single time. Trump says something insane… we all freak out, and then he backs [off]." 

MeidasTouch editor Ron Filipowski called Trump a "madman" over his Tuesday morning threat but managed to share a TACO meme after the ceasefire was announced. The about-face promoted conservative attorney Will Chamberlain to respond, "Wait, did you want him to end Iranian civilization?"

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Like many others, liberal pundit Malcom Nance shared several TACO memes hours after reposting messages condemning Trump's threat. 

RedState contributor Bonchie responded, "So you guys are jokingly mocking someone for not doing something you find morally depraved? Do you see the issue? It's either morally depraved and you're happy he didn't, or you don't actually care and TACO hahaha or something."

The contradicting narratives were enough that Sam Stein, of the anti-Trump site The Bulwark, slammed people using the TACO jab. 

"I know people like to pile on Trump in these moments and say, 'Well, he TACO'd' and, you know, he was always going to TACO,' and I just think that's just the wrong framework because it's not about chickening out… this brinksmanship has real, tangible costs, real costs, a substantial cost, not just over the past four weeks, but going forward," Stein said Wednesday on "Morning Joe."

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Media Research Center associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro feels many journalists and pundits were "exposed" by the hypocritical talking points.

"The ability of the liberal elitist media to pivot from not just claiming but reporting that Trump was going to commit a genocide to mocking him for chickening out, exposed one of two things," Fondacaro told Fox News Digital. 

"Either they knew their claims of a pending genocide were a lie meant to scare people, and it was all an act," he continued, "or they really wanted to goad Trump into committing one."  

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., wrote on X, "I do not appreciate anyone - Democrat or Republican - taking this moment to make TACO jokes to say Trump 'chickened out.' The president was threatening genocide against 90 million Iranians. I'm grateful there's a ceasefire & scores of innocent people didn't die tonight."

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.