Dems Joke by Handing Out Tacos
In what can only be described as a political stunt that backfired with flair, the Democratic National Committee rolled a custom taco truck into downtown Washington, D.C., this week—parking it outside Republican National Committee headquarters in an attempt to troll former President Trump over his tariff policies.
Branded with the acronym "TACO" (short for "Trump Always Chickens Out"), the food truck was meant to be a cheeky jab at what Democrats claim is Trump’s habit of backing off hardline tariff threats. Instead, it triggered a bipartisan round of eye rolls and ridicule, especially from conservatives who called the stunt everything from "cringeworthy" to "pathetic."
The term “TACO” was borrowed from Wall Street analysts who’ve critiqued Trump’s often aggressive, then softening stance on reciprocal tariffs. But the DNC’s effort to turn that critique into viral street theater—complete with tacos—has become the latest entry in a growing list of Democratic messaging experiments that fell flat.
“Trump always chickens out. We’re just bringing the tacos to match,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin in an interview with Fox News Digital. The quote was meant to land with sizzle. Instead, it came across with the pop of a deflated party balloon.
Vice President JD Vance didn’t waste time torching the effort, calling Democrats “the lamest opposition in American history.” Others, like RNC Communications Director Zach Parkinson, took it further: “A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again, too?” he joked, referring to a past DNC outreach campaign.
Even the location of the food truck added fuel to the fire—conservatives pointed out the DNC didn’t even park it outside the actual RNC building, but rather a nearby church.
Still, Democrats tried to flip the narrative. DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman fired back at Vance, accusing Republicans of cutting food assistance for 40 million Americans and sarcastically branding the vice president as “the cringiest VP in American history.” That dig, however, seemed like little more than a deflection amid a campaign misfire.
Critics on the right argue that the spectacle reflects a deeper issue: Democrats, they say, are relying on gimmicks and internet trends to counter Trump’s political machine instead of presenting a compelling counter-vision.
“The party that brought you the hugely successful ‘Dark Brandon’ and ‘Republicans are Weird’ campaigns are now going all in on ‘TACO,’” quipped Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross.