Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17756977072701775627876257Screenshot 2026-04-08 135747.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"> Anti-war demonstrators gather near the White House to protest the war in Iran on April 7, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a temporary ceasefire has been reached between the U.S., Iran, and Israel, pausing attacks for about two weeks while Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations continue toward a longer-term agreement. <em>📷༘ Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — Donald Trump claimed &quot;total&quot; victory after a ceasefire with Iran. But critics say the deal is a fresh example of their maxim that the tough-talking US president always &quot;chickens out.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/9/mediators-to-fragile-us-iran-truce-urge-restraint-as-violations-reported-0645">Mediators to &#x27;fragile&#x27; US-Iran truce urge restraint as violations reported</a></div><p>In the space of 12 nerve-wracking hours, Trump went from warning that a &quot;whole civilization will die&quot; to hailing that agreement as a big day for world peace.</p><p>The reality on the ground however showed a still shaky two-week ceasefire with a host of unanswered questions—not least about whether Trump had ever intended to follow through on his apocalyptic threats.</p><p>&quot;President Trump is proving to be an increasingly unpredictable force and unreliable ally,&quot;  Peter Loge, director of George Washington University&#x27;s School of Media, told AFP.</p><p>The former businessman and author of &quot;Art of the Deal&quot; has a long favored a negotiating style that relies on maximum leverage in order to extract more from whoever is on the other side of the table.</p><p>Trump insisted his approach, which included a vow to bomb Iran back to the &quot;stone age&quot; by targeting civilian energy plants and bridges, had served its purpose.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/8/trump-says-us-will-help-with-traffic-buildup-in-hormuz-strait-1359">Trump says US will help with &#x27;traffic buildup&#x27; in Hormuz Strait</a></div><p>&quot;Total and complete victory,&quot; the president told AFP in a brief telephone interview after Monday&#x27;s announcement. &quot;100 percent. No question about it.&quot;</p><p>The White House also insisted that everything had gone according to plan, saying that Trump had always planned for Operation Epic Fury to last between four and six weeks.</p><p>&quot;The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations,&quot; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters</p><p>But critics say that Trump has employed the same tactic on everything from tariffs to wars to his threats to annex Greenland, especially as markets start to react unfavorably.</p><p>The phenomenon now has its own acronym, which originally began with traders: TACO, or &quot;Trump Always Chickens Out.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;MILITARY MORON&#x27; </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Loge—who predicted on Tuesday morning that Trump would take a self-declared win on Iran then give &quot;give them two more weeks&quot;—added: &quot;The only consistent thing President Trump does is declare victory.&quot;</p><p>The time period of two weeks is also familiar to Trump-watchers who have seen him evoke the interval in a series of previous crises.</p><p>Critics led by rival Democrats lashed out at the Republican president, who has flexed his executive muscle in the face of a largely pliant and currently absent Congress.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/8/trump-iran-deal-total-and-complete-victory-for-us-1110">Trump: Iran deal &#x27;total and complete victory&#x27; for US</a></div><p>&quot;Trump is a military moron,&quot; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said as he announced the Senate would vote next week on a war powers resolution.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s opponents say the war has left Iran effectively in control of the Strait of Hormuz, with a stranglehold over world energy prices. There&#x27;s also little evidence he has done more to prevent Iran getting a nuclear bomb, given that the Iranians still possess their store of highly enriched uranium.</p><p>And Trump&#x27;s Republicans are nervous that the Middle East war will hit them in November&#x27;s midterm elections for control of Congress, given that American families are already finding it harder to pay the bills.</p><p>&quot;All of this happens when one man...has unchecked power to wage war,&quot; added Schumer.</p><p>The criticism grew as the ceasefire appeared to be increasingly fragile, with Iran threatening to torpedo it if Israel did not stop attacks on Lebanon.</p><p>&quot;Trump, &#x27;the peace President&#x27;, should have never started this war alongside Israel, who clearly doesn’t want peace,&quot; former ally and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Thursday.</p><p>Nevertheless, Trump loyalists praised the deal.</p><p>&quot;It looks like Trump ultimately hits the home run here, takes it to the brink. Iran blinks,&quot; said Fox News host and ally Laura Ingraham on her show after the announcement of the deal.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2VVdCSu_MDA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OYLYNrCn81k?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vtccpkz-pOM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Donald Trump claimed "total" victory after a ceasefire with Iran. But critics say the deal is a fresh example of their maxim that the tough-talking US president always "chickens out."</p>

Donald Trump claimed "total" victory after a ceasefire with Iran. But critics say the deal is a fresh example of their maxim that the tough-talking US president always "chickens out."

'Total victory' or TACO? Trump faces questions on Iran deal

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

World

'Total victory' or TACO? Trump faces questions on Iran deal

Danny Kemp,

Agence France-Presse

Published April 09, 2026 09:27 AM PHT

Read More:

Washington

United States

war

iran

us

israel

trump

deal

Agence France-Presse

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.