Fact Check

No, Pam Bondi didn't threaten to arrest anyone who calls Trump 'TACO'

"Taco" in this context stands for "Trump always chickens out."

by Jack Izzo, Published June 4, 2025


An image appears to show a white woman speaking. Towards the bottom, a news chyron says, ""IF YOU CALL HIM 'T.A.C.O' WE WILL ARREST YOU" -AG BONDI."

Image courtesy of Facebook user Daniel Farrands


Claim:
A Fox News chyron reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the administration would arrest anyone who called U.S. President Donald Trump a "taco."
Rating:
Originated as Satire

About this rating


In late May and early June 2025, an image appeared on Facebook appearing to show U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing on Fox News that anyone who called U.S. President Donald Trump a "taco" would be arrested.

In this context, "taco" stands for "Trump always chickens out," according to The Guardian. The news outlet reported that the term was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong on May 2 in an analysis of the market's response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Snopes readers wrote in asking whether the claim was true. However, looking at the original posts that spread the claim clearly revealed it was not real. Moreover, searching for the username present in the image's watermarks revealed that the image originated with a page that describes its output as satire.

The image featured in the original post was clearly edited to resemble a Fox News broadcast, but featured several changes that made it quite apparent the image was not real. "Fox News" and "Breaking News" were changed to "Fox Mews" and "Braking Mews." Bondi's name was replaced with "Pam Izzoni-Diot."

The image also featured two watermarks, one labeled "Liver from Prussia" and the other "@Mrs-Putin." Snopes found a page under the "Mrs. Putin" name that described its output as satire.

The original image was posted on May 28, 2025, and quickly spread in anti-Trump Facebook groups

This isn't the first satirical Fox News chyron of Pam Bondi supposedly threatening punishments for insulting Trump that Snopes has checked. We also looked into images alleging that Bondi would prosecute anyone who said "F*** Trump" and "Clown Prince Trump." 

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.


By Jack Izzo

Jack Izzo is a Chicago-based journalist and two-time "Jeopardy!" alumnus.


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