TACO has the potential to hurt Trump.
(1) It's simple. Trump Always Chickens Out. You can put that phrase anywhere, apply it to anything, and everyone knows what it means.
(2) It's meme-able. You have the slogan. You have the word mark. And you have an universally recognizable image. Hell, there's even a pre-built emoji for it. You can put this thing anywhere and it will be a symbol of the democracy movement.
(3) It's universal. You can apply it to any situation. Trump pulls back on tariffs? TACO. Trump gives in to Putin? TACO. Trump increases the national debt? TACO.
(4) It's organic. No Democratic strategist came up with TACO. It's an observation that emerged from the finance world"from the very same bros who voted for Trump in the first place. You can feel the disdain of his own supporters dripping off of it.
(5) It hits at something deep inside Trump. It's about his soul. It's about his weakness.
(6) It's a provocation. Real talk: It's usually good that Trump chickens out. It's good that he didn't try to use the military to remain in office in January of 2021. It's good that he pulled the 150 percent tariffs back to 45 percent, or 30 percent, or whatever they're at this morning.
But in the current dynamic, that's how Trump wins. He says he's going to do some insane thing, his supporters give him credit for doing it"but then he pulls back in order to avoid the worst real-world consequences.
By hitting him with TACO over and over, you (a) reveal his pull-backs as weakness and (b) dare him to go through with the stuff that will screw up the real world"and, in theory, create pain for his movement.
