Trump’s ‘TACO’ strategy is outraging even his most loyal supporters – what’s next in Iran?

To the relief of those around the world, Donald Trump has chickened out again after vowing that a ‘whole civilisation will die’.

Hours after he issued the threat, the United States and Iran agreed to a fragile two-week ceasefire, allowing those around the world to breathe a sigh of relief.

But the unparalleled hostility the President has shown in recent days has alarmed even his most loyal allies.

On Easter, he wrote on Truth Social: ‘There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.’

A day later, he added: ‘A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.’

Trump’s second term has largely been defined by his eagerness to make intimidating threats and then to retreat if a backlash ensues — a phenomenon his critics have derided as Trump Always Chickens Out, or TACO.

TACO was first coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong to describe Trump’s pattern of imposing tariffs on countries before suddenly backing out, or reducing rates.

Allies turn against the President

But Trump’s tendency to ‘TACO’ – along with his unfiltered posts as of late – has led even those closest to the President to sound the alarm.

Former press secretary and aide to Trump in his first term, Stephanie Grisham, said the President is ‘clearly not well’.

‘He will back down from this madness and attempt to make himself out to be a hero instead. I’m going to ask again, where is the leadership in Congress?

‘He’s clearly not well, and nowhere to be found. This isn’t ‘just Trump being Trump’ & u ALL know it,’ she wrote.

Trump is facing harsh criticism from his party for his threats to Iran, which is already a deeply unpopular conflict in the US.

Longtime ally Tucker Carlson said on his show: ‘The message of all faith at the biggest picture level is the message in our Bible, which is you are not God. And only if you think you are, do you talk this way.’

Others said that calling for the destruction of a ‘whole civilisation’ is not consistent with American values.

Dr Dafydd Townley, Senior Teaching Fellow in International Security at the University of Portsmouth, told Metro that the upset with Trump from his own party shows Trump isn’t aware of what his own country wants.

‘When figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene start calling for the enactment of the 25th Amendment, it suggests a President that is acting outside the international legal framework and the public opinion of his own nation.’

He added: ‘Trump has been looking for an off-ramp for some weeks, so this may be it. I am reasonably sure that he’s more interested in regime change in Cuba than in Tehran.

‘Trump will come under pressure from the Israelis to resume the war post the two-week interregnum. From Israel’s perspective, the job is only half done. Iran’s theocratic, belligerent regime remains in place. In actuality, the current version, now dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is more authoritarian, bigoted and war-like than the last.

‘If anything, Israel is less secure in 2026 than it was in 2025. There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded beast.’

What will the ceasefire mean, and did Trump actually ‘prevail’?

Dr Bamo Nouri, senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of West London, told Metro that although the ceasefire appears to be a de-escalation or even a victory for the US, it signals the opposite.

‘In effect, a war intended to weaken Iran may end up strengthening it,’ he said.

‘The US may have demonstrated military superiority, but that hasn’t translated into a decisive political outcome – and that’s what ultimately defines success in modern conflict.

‘If anything, this exposes the limits of military power and the growing importance of economic and strategic resilience.’

Dr Townley told Metro that although Trump is celebrating the agreement as a ‘victory’, there’s little to be happy about.

‘The White House probably thought the targeted killings of leading Iranian figures would bring about a collapse of the regime, but it was a completely inaccurate assumption,’ he said.

‘All the administration has done is replace one Ayatollah with a younger version who can now claim a moral victory over the US.’