Trump faces brutal TACO insult over Iran as he steps back from the brink
By Phillip Nieto
Daily Mail
Jan 14, 2026
The TACO insult
Donald Trump is being heckled for appearing to walk back his red line promise to strike Iran for killing thousands of anti-regime protesters.
'If you TACO now Trump then you have just thrown all those protesters under the bus #FreeIran,' wrote an X user following the conference.
The TACO insult stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' which refers to a term coined by Wall Street traders in May 2025 after the President repeatedly flip flopped on tariffs.
Anti-regime activists warned that Trump 'has just thrown all those protesters under the bus' after he appeared to offer an exit ramp for Tehran during an Oval Office press conference on Wednesday.
'We've been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it's stopped and stopping, and there's no plan for executions or an execution,' Trump told reporters. 'So I've been told that on good authority. We'll find out about.'
Trump claimed he was told by 'very important sources on the other side' that the Iranian regime would stop killing protesters, adding that 'executions won't take place.'
'We're going to watch and see what the process is. But we were given a very good, very good statement by people that are, aware of what's going on,' Trump added when pressed on if he would use military action on the Middle Eastern rival.
Previously, Trump has threatened strikes on the Islamic regime amid a bloody crackdown that has left at least 2,500 protesters dead.
Donald Trump signaled he may not strike Iran after claiming the regime has stopped killing protesters
The president on Tuesday consulted with his national security team about next steps after telling reporters he believed the killing in Iran was 'significant.'
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key White House National Security Council officials began meeting last Friday to develop options for Trump, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military strikes.
The Iranian security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
On Wednesday, Iranian officials signaled that suspects detained in nationwide protests would face fast trials and executions while the Islamic Republic promised a 'decisive response' if the US or Israel intervene in the domestic unrest.
The threats emerged as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening following Trump´s escalated warnings of potential military action over the killing of peaceful demonstrators.
Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran´s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reiterated Iranian claims, without providing evidence, that the U.S. and Israel have instigated the protests and that they are the real killers of protesters and security forces who have died in the turmoil, according to Iran´s semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
He added that those countries will 'receive the response in the appropriate time.'
Earlier Wednesday, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran´s judiciary chief, said the government must act quickly to punish more than 18,000 people who have been detained through rapid trials and executions. Mohseni-Ejei's comments about rapid trials and executions were made in a video shared by Iranian state television online.
The president on Tuesday consulted with his national security team about next steps after telling reporters he believed the killing in Iran was 'significant'
'If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,' he said. 'If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn´t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.'
The comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.
'If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,' Trump said.
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