Ruben Gallego Serves Up 'TACO' Critique of Trump's Greenland Deal

Ruben Gallego Serves Up 'TACO' Critique of Trump's Greenland Deal

"Destroying NATO would be shooting ourselves in the foot."

Ericka Piñon
Ericka Piñon
January 22, 2026

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) weighed in on President Donald Trump's recent Greenland negotiations, posting an AI-generated image of the president in a taco costume while raising questions about the proposed agreement.

The post referenced "TACO", which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. It's a term that gained traction in May 2025 following the president's approach to trade negotiations, where he frequently adjusted his positions after making initial threats.

AI generated TACO Trump
AI generated TACO Trump

This comes after President Trump attended the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to discuss increased American involvement in Greenland's security and Arctic operations, marking a change from his earlier statements about potentially using military force to gain control of the Danish territory.

After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump announced that he had reached the "framework of a future deal" regarding Greenland, though complete details have not been released.

The proposed arrangement appears to involve updating a 1951 agreement that established American military facilities in Greenland for NATO defense purposes. 

According to Trump, the framework would provide "total access" for defensive operations, including deploying the Golden Dome defense system similar to Israel's technology. 

NATO officials have indicated the updated arrangement could address Chinese and Russian activities in Greenland while expanding NATO's role there.

Whether the deal includes increased American access to Greenland's mineral resources, another stated Trump priority, remains uncertain.

Gallego shared his views on Trump's Davos speech and the Greenland proposal in a series of social media posts.

"The only time NATO has ever been invoked was to defend us after 9/11. Denmark answered the call and paid one of the highest per-capita casualty rates of any NATO country," Gallego wrote. "Destroying NATO would be shooting ourselves in the foot."

He also questioned the financial priorities: "$700 Billion for Greenland, $100k per citizens of Greenland, nothing for Lexington or the workers. This is not America First."

As the Greenland deal takes shape, the question remains whether this is another example of what critics call Trump's TACO pattern in negotiations.

Related Posts

Ericka Piñon

Ericka Piñon

Ericka Piñon is a state and federal politics reporter for Cactus Politics and a Journalism and Mass Communication student at Arizona State University. With a focus in public relations, she aims to deliver balanced coverage grounded in solid sourcing.

Subscribe to the newsletter everyone in Arizona is reading.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Related Posts

Texas Politics
The Floridian
Big Energy News
Dome Politics