President claims ‘100 percent’ success as critics revive ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ maxim; two-week truce leaves Strait of Hormuz and nuclear concerns unresolved.
WASHINGTON / SHARJAH – In just 12 hours, President Donald Trump shifted from warning that a “whole civilisation will die” to hailing a ceasefire with Iran as a landmark moment for world peace. But on the ground, the two-week truce remains fragile, and critics are asking whether the president ever intended to follow through on his own apocalyptic threats.
Trump has declared “total and complete victory” following the agreement that paused Operation Epic Fury, the US-Israeli military campaign. The White House insists the operation went exactly as planned, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that the president had always envisioned a four-to-six-week campaign.
“The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations,” Leavitt told reporters.
Trump himself was characteristically blunt. “Total and complete victory,” he told AFP in a brief telephone interview. “100 percent. No question about it.”
TACO: The acronym haunting the White House
But to his detractors, the pattern is painfully familiar. From tariffs to trade wars to threats to annex Greenland, Trump’s maximalist rhetoric has often given way to negotiated outcomes that fall short of his own red lines.
The phenomenon has even earned an acronym, first coined by traders: TACO – “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
“President Trump is proving to be an increasingly unpredictable force and unreliable ally,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, told AFP. “The only consistent thing President Trump does is declare victory.”
Loge had predicted Tuesday morning that Trump would claim a win and then “give them two more weeks” – a timeframe the president has repeatedly invoked in past crises.
‘Military moron’: Democrats pounce
Democratic leaders wasted no time in launching political counterattacks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate would vote next week on a war powers resolution, calling Trump a “military moron.”
Schumer argued that the war has left Iran effectively in control of the Strait of Hormuz, giving Tehran a stranglehold over global energy prices. He also noted that Iran still possesses its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with little evidence that the conflict has slowed its nuclear ambitions.
“All of this happens when one man has unchecked power to wage war,” Schumer added.
Republican nerves ahead of midterms
Behind the scenes, even Trump’s own party is growing anxious. With November’s midterm elections looming and American families already feeling financial strain from energy price spikes, some Republicans worry the Middle East conflict will become an electoral liability.
The ceasefire’s fragility has only deepened concerns. Iran has already threatened to torpedo the agreement if Israel does not halt its attacks on Lebanon, raising the prospect of renewed hostilities before the two-week window expires.
Allies cheer, former allies rebel
Trump loyalists have rallied to his defense. Fox News host Laura Ingraham praised the outcome on her show: “It looks like Trump ultimately hits the home run here, takes it to the brink. Iran blinks.”
But the president has also faced rare criticism from a former close ally. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Thursday: “Trump, ‘the peace President’, should have never started this war alongside Israel, who clearly doesn’t want peace.”
What comes next?
With a shaky truce in place, unanswered questions abound. Has Trump truly secured a victory, or has he simply paused a conflict that could resume within weeks? Is Iran now more entrenched in the Strait of Hormuz? And will the ceasefire hold if Israel continues its operations in Lebanon?
For now, the president is celebrating. But as the TACO acronym suggests, critics are waiting to see whether this deal is a genuine breakthrough – or just the latest example of Trump declaring victory and walking away.
