Lord Ashcroft: This is a watershed moment for Trump’s presidency – he must be tough against Putin to shed his unwanted “Taco” nickname

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit com. Follow him on X/Facebook @LordAshcroft.

Donald Trump’s critics have taken great joy in giving him a nickname: “Taco”, the first letters of the words “Trump Always Chickens Out”.  When he was asked by a reporter about this acronym at a recent press conference, the President was less than delighted.

For a man with a formidable ego, it was not what he wanted to hear.

The name “Taco” was given to President Trump because of his dithering over tariffs – saying he was going to impose a huge import tax on various foreign countries and then, at the last moment, changing his mind. In his defence, the President claimed, with some justification, “It’s called negotiation”.

Over the coming days, the 47^th President of the United States of America has the chance to shed the “Taco” nickname – and to take a courageous decision that could define his second term in office.

However, it is the President’s approach to Russia, rather than tariffs, that will determine whether the nickname sticks – or whether someone comes up with a much more pleasing nickname because Trump has stood up to President Vladimir Putin in no uncertain terms.

On Wednesday May 28, as Russia escalated its attacks on Ukraine, President Trump was asked by reporters at the Oval Office if he thought President Putin wanted to end the war. “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks,” he replied. Moments later he made it clear he was talking about “within two weeks” rather than any longer.

The President said he would find out if Putin was “tapping him along”, adding. “If he is, we will respond a little bit differently.” There was a strong suggestion that he would take tough action against Russia if necessary.

Those comments came after a series of critical public remarks made by President Trump about President Putin. He had earlier written posts on social media saying that the Russian leader has gone “absolutely crazy” and was “playing with fire”.

The two-week deadline that President Trump gave President Putin expired on Wednesday, June 11. So now the US President needs to take decisive measures against Russia. If he does nothing, it will not only empower the Russian leader but the “Taco” nickname could haunt the US leader for ever more.

At the very least, President Trump, who while campaigning to be president claimed he could halt the war within 24 hours, now needs to impose significant new sanctions against Russia. Some in Washington want the President to impose 500 per cent tariffs on any country buying exports from Russia, notably oil.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who long ago realised that President Putin has been playing for time, said recently that the US Senate would take action “if Putin continued to play games,” adding, “I’m hoping for the best, but when it comes to the thug in Moscow, we should all prepare for more of the same.”

The reality is that many observers outside the two countries believe that President Trump is being made to look foolish by his “friend” President Putin, particularly after their two-hour phone call last month after which the US leader said Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire.” Since then, Presidents Trump and Putin have had another phone call that, once again, achieved nothing in terms of a ceasefire or a peace deal.

Over the past month, President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will never be President Trump’s favourite world leader, has made all the right noises in calling for an immediate ceasefire, while Russia has repeatedly stalled. On June 2, in so-called peace talks, Russia made unrealistic, even ludicrous, demands of Ukraine before it says the war can stop. Furthermore, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilians and towns have escalated not diminished in recent days.

Earlier this month, President Trump likened Presidents Putin and Zelensky to “two kids fighting in the park”.

That analogy is so wrong.

Until February 2022, Ukraine was a peaceful, independent country that wanted no quarrel with its more powerful neighbour. As Ukraine’s President said when asked about Trump’s comments, “He [Putin] is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids.”

Zelensky added: “And it’s not about President Trump, it’s about any person who is not here in the country, who is some thousands of miles away — cannot feel fully and understand this pain.”

I have visited Ukraine 12 times since the all-out war started and I have repeatedly felt the pain of the nation and its people. Now is the time to bring this brutal and needless war to an end.

Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, said in an interview this week that President Trump is the only Western leader capable of exerting enough pressure on both Kyiv and Moscow to force a ceasefire. Interestingly, too, given his previous pro-Putin public sentiments, Orbán also said that Russian leaders “only understand the language of force”.

Orbán went even further, saying that Putin could not allow the war with Ukraine to escalate. “The Russians are too weak for that. They can’t even defeat Ukraine, so they can’t really attack NATO,” the Hungarian PM said.

I share the sentiment that President Trump may ultimately need to go further than simply bringing in tough new sanctions against Russia – less carrot, more stick from now on.

The President may need to pick up the phone again to the Russian President and say words to this effect: “Vladimir, don’t make me do what I have tried long and hard to avoid doing.

“I have been friendlier towards you and your country than any other US president of recent times. This is because I have long admired your strong leadership and, when I became the President, I hoped and believed that we would enjoy a good relationship – and an honest one too. But, frankly, you are taking me for a fool and my patience is at an end.

“The whole world knows that Russia is in flagrant breach of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 which guaranteed Ukraine’s security in return for handing over the second-largest nuclear arsenal in the world to your country.

“Since 2014, and more particularly 2022, your country has illegally stolen 20 per cent of land from a peaceful neighbour which, for the moment at least, we are going to let you keep, while not acknowledging that Russia rightfully owns it. But enough is enough. This madness has to stop.”

Of course, President Putin would not like to hear such sentiments. He might even rattle his sabre and make some crass remarks about Russia having the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world but, ultimately, I believe he will do what most bullies do when someone strong is brave enough to stand up to them – he will back down and strike a deal.

If that happens, President Trump might eventually receive the global honour that he wants above all other – the Nobel Peace Prize. From a personal point of view, he will be able to shake off, once and for all, any notion that he “always chickens out”.

Indeed, if the President really acts decisively against Russia and its leader, his supporters might want to tweak the “Taco” nickname to an acronym considerably more flattering. Perhaps even “Taka”: “Trump Always Kicks Ass”.