When a politician becomes a punchline, the descent is often slow and subtle. Not so with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who decided to skip the gradual decline and leap headfirst into Internet infamy with a TikTok video so awkward, so unintentionally comedic, that it’s likely to be studied in political science courses as a cautionary tale in digital self-sabotage.
In the now-viral clip, Swalwell attempts to troll President Donald Trump by eating a taco — yes, really — in response to a Wall Street nickname aimed at Trump: TACO, short for “Trump Always Chickens Out” (on tariffs). But instead of delivering a coherent political critique, Swalwell delivered a performance that can only be described as tragicomic performance art.
Set to an inexplicably cheerful 1950s sitcom soundtrack, Swalwell — clad in typical political casualwear — tries to look serious as someone off-camera blurts out: “Why the [expletive] is Trump always chickening out on tariffs?” That’s the setup. Then comes the “punchline”: Swalwell attempts to lift a taco from its wrapper… only to fail spectacularly.
What a douche pic.twitter.com/qCLrX9e5LO
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) June 2, 2025
Tomatoes fall. Lettuce flies. The taco disintegrates in his hands, leaving him with nothing but political crumbs — both literally and figuratively. If this was meant to be a power move, it failed. If it was satire, it failed harder. What we got instead was a moment of unfiltered awkwardness that managed to combine bad optics, poor messaging, and even worse finger-food technique.
To understand the full comedy of errors, let’s backtrack. The term “TACO” was reportedly floated in political finance circles as a jab at Trump’s supposed reluctance to enforce tariffs. When asked about it, Trump dismissed the insult with characteristic defiance. But Swalwell? He saw a moment to shine. What he delivered, instead, was a political parody of himself.
It’s worth asking: What was the goal here? Democrats have routinely criticized Trump’s tariff strategies. So if Trump is seen as de-escalating — wouldn’t that align with their platform? But rather than celebrate the shift, Swalwell decided it was time for performative grandstanding, assuming (incorrectly) that millennial meme culture would reward his culinary comedy.
The issue here isn’t just that the taco collapsed. It’s that Swalwell did too — under the weight of his own desire to seem culturally plugged in, irreverent, and “one of the guys.” It didn’t work. TikTok is a young person’s game, but young voters have an exceptional radar for inauthenticity, and this performance set off alarms.
Worse, it reignited memories of Swalwell’s past blunders — including his alleged entanglement with a Chinese spy, an episode critics haven’t let go. His latest stunt only reminded voters that this is a lawmaker who seems less interested in legislative rigor than in social media stardom.
