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This article is about a word used by Donald Trump on Twitter. For other uses, see Covfefe (disambiguation).

Avatar of Donald J. Trump
Avatar of Donald J. Trump
 Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
 Twitter logo, a stylized blue bird

Despite the constant negative press covfefe

May 31, 2017, 12:06 a.m.[1]

Covfefe (/koʊˈfɛfi/ koh-FEH-fee,[2] /kəvˈfeɪfeɪ, koʊˈfɛfeɪ/[3]) is a word, widely presumed to be a typographical error, that Donald Trump used in a viral tweet when he was President of the United States. It quickly became an Internet meme.

Six minutes after midnight (EDT) on May 31, 2017, Trump tweeted "Despite the constant negative press covfefe".[4] He deleted the tweet six hours later but implied that its wording was intentional. Most media outlets presumed that he had meant to type "coverage". White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated, "I think the President and a small group of people know exactly what he meant."[5]

Initial tweet and public response

The tweet attracted intense attention in the news and on social media, quickly becoming a viral phenomenon. Both the word and tweet produced a variety of cultural, economic, and social influences. For example, the Volfefe index (for "volatility" and "covfefe"), created by JPMorgan Chase in 2019, measured the impact of President Trump's tweets on the U.S. bond yields.[6] "Covfefe" was one of Trump's most famous tweets.[7][8][9]

"Covfefe" quickly went viral and generated both jokes and speculations in social media and on the news about its meaning. It was retweeted more than 105,000 times, garnered more than 148,000 likes,[10] and created a viral Internet meme on the morning of May 31.[11] The hashtag #covfefe had been used on the Internet 1.4 million times within 24 hours of Trump's tweet.[12]

Trump never acknowledged that the tweet contained a mistyping. He instead tweeted again at 06:09 after deleting the original tweet: "Who can figure out the true meaning of 'covfefe' ??? Enjoy!"[13] White House press secretary Sean Spicer implied later that day that the tweet was not a typo but rather intentional: "I think the president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant."[5][14] The Google Search term "covfefe" surpassed the search term "Paris climate" (in reference to the 2015 Paris Climate agreement) on May 31, the same day Trump indicated that the U.S. may withdraw from the agreement.[15]

Trump referenced the word in May 2018 by pronouncing it in a White House video about the auditory illusion Yanny or Laurel. He joked near the end of the video: "I hear 'covfefe'."[2]

An analyst for The Washington Post, Philip Bump, wrote in July 2019 that the covfefe tweet represented Trump's refusal to admit even minor misstatements.[16] Other critics in the media expressed similar opinions.[17][18]

Subsequent references

Writing for The Atlantic in January 2019, journalist Adrienne LaFrance summarized the significance of the covfefe tweet: "Covfefe remains the tweet that best illustrates Trump's most preternatural gift: He knows how to captivate people, how to command, and divert the attention of the masses."[19]

The covfefe meme produced a variety of follow-up effects in culture, language, and business. While marking the first anniversary of the covfefe tweet in May 2018, a USA Today article noted: "But did the president know what he had wrought on U.S. culture? The memes. The songs. The jokes."[20]

In language and politics

The popular word game Words with Friends added "covfefe" to its dictionary in June 2017.[21]

Dictionary.com announced that "covfefe" topped its list of 'unmatched queries' in October 2017 and continued to have the most user searches for a word without an entry.[22] Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable added an entry for "covfefe" to its 20th edition in October 2018.[23]

Lake Superior State University included "covfefe" in its 43rd annual edition of "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness" in December 2017. The university's spokesperson noted that the word "became shorthand for a social media mistake".[24]

Subsequent misspellings and mis-speakings by Trump have been compared in the media to the covfefe tweet.[25][26][27][28][29] "Covfefe" is also often invoked when discussing gaffes made by other public figures, businesses, and organizations in public discourse.[30][31][32]

Other uses of "covfefe" involve word play on similarity with the word "coffee".[33] Examples include a coffee shop called "Covfefe Café",[34] a beer called "'No Collusion' Russian Imperial Coffee 'Covfefe' Stout",[35] various covfefe coffee drinks,[36][37] an alcoholic coffee cocktail "Covfefe",[38] a coffee and tea ad by Amul,[39] etc.

Protester holding a 'Truth not "Covfefe"' sign.
A protester holding a 'Truth not "Covfefe"' sign

Anti-Trump protesters at various events in 2019 also used signs featuring variations on the covfefe theme.[40][41][42]

Although every letter can be silent in English, "covfefe" is the only word with a silent v.

In law

Main article: COVFEFE Act

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL 5) introduced H.R.2884, "The Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act (COVFEFE Act)" on June 12, 2017.[43] It would require the National Archives to preserve and store social media posts by the President of the United States. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the same day but saw no further congressional action.[44] Regardless, Trump's tweets have been archived in accordance with the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014.

In business and commerce

The covfefe tweet quickly spawned a variety of merchandise items (e.g., T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, and bags) bearing covfefe-related inscriptions.[45][46]

Both supporters and opponents of Trump in 21 U.S. states obtained customized "Covfefe" license plates by February 2018.[47] The state of Georgia prohibits the use of this word on vanity license plates.[48]

Photo of a sign advertising a Covfefe cocktail.
A coffee shop sign advertising a White Russian cocktail, labelled as 'Covfefe cocktail', possibly a reference to Russian interference in Trump's election

A 2018 Google Chrome extension called Covfefe allows Twitter users to correct misspellings in their earlier tweets.[49]

Upholding the denial of one such application, a January 2019 decision by Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO concluded that the word "covfefe" was too commonly used in a variety of contexts and therefore cannot be trademarked for any specific product.[50] At least 40 trademark applications have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for various kinds of covfefe-themed merchandise; none of those applications have been granted as of March 2019.[51]

Using inspiration from the covfefe tweet, JPMorgan Chase created a "Volfefe index" in September 2019 to measure the impact of Trump's tweets on the U.S. bond yields.[52] The name "volfefe" is a portmanteau of the words "volatility" and "covfefe".[6]

In horse racing

Main article: Covfefe (horse)

A bay filly born in 2016, named Covfefe, won several graded stakes races in 2018 and 2019, including the 2019 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She earned more than one million USD.[53][54][55]

In literature, art, and entertainment

A project of The Daily Show, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library, features a piece dedicated to covfefe.[56]

Alec Baldwin portrayed Trump on Saturday Night Live's "At Home" edition on April 11, 2020, to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, referring to it as "Covfefe-19"[57][58] while drinking Clorox bleach that he called "COVID juice".[59]

Truth Social

Main article: Truth Social

Following the creation of Trump's own social network Truth Social, he has stated that he will remain on Truth Social as his primary social media platform.[60][61][62] On April 29, 2022, Trump used the Covfefe meme in his second post to Truth Social, posting the message "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE".[63]

See also

References

  1. ^ Trump, Donald J. [@realDonaldTrump] (May 30, 2017). "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b #Laurel? #Yanny? Or... (YouTube video). Trump White House Archived. May 17, 2018. Event occurs at 40s. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "covfefe Meaning | Pop Culture by Dictionary.com".
  4. ^ Flegenheimer, Matt (May 31, 2017). "What's a 'Covfefe'? Trump Tweet Unites a Bewildered Nation". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Estepa, Jessica (May 31, 2017). "Sean Spicer says 'covfefe' wasn't a typo: Trump knew 'exactly what he meant'". USA Today. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Stewart, Emily (September 9, 2019). "The Volfefe Index, Wall Street's new way to measure the effects of Trump tweets, explained". Vox. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Kooser, Amanda (December 10, 2018). "Donald Trump #SmockingGun typo sets Twitter on fire". CNET. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Twitter user Matthew Kick gave a humorous shout-out to one of Trump's most famous Twitter spellings of all time, the mysterious "covfefe" back in 2017
  8. ^ Gstalter, Morgan (December 11, 2018). "George Conway mocks Trump's misspellings". The Hill. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Katyal, who previously worked under former President Obama, trolled some of Trump's most famous spelling errors by asking why Starbucks "cofefe" was always "smocking hot."
  9. ^ *"The Daily Show will be trolling Trump on his birthday with ads on Fox News". The Week. June 12, 2019. The pop-up exhibit, which has already traveled to Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, features some of the president's most famous tweets, such as the ever-mysterious "covfefe."*Zakrzewski, Cat (July 12, 2019). "The Technology 202: Trump's social media summit was a spectacle. Here are the real takeaways for Big Tech". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Large posters of some of President Trump's most famous tweets were placed on stands. My colleague Philip Bump spotted a tweet about the president's "covfefe" typo next to the bust of Abraham Lincoln.
  10. ^ Kutsch, Tom (May 31, 2017). "Spicer on 'covfefe': 'The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant'". ABC News. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Romano, Aja (June 3, 2017). "Covfefe kerfuffles, partisan dogs, and Wonder Woman wars: the week in memes, explained". Vox.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  12. ^ "#MeToo, #TakeAKnee and #Covfefe: Hashtags that dominated in 2017". BBC News. December 27, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "Tweet from Donald Trump: "Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!"". Twitter. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  14. ^ O'Donnell, Jayne. "Is chronic sleep deprivation impairing President Trump's brain, performance?". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  15. ^ Jones, Stacy (May 31, 2017). "Trump 'Covfefe' Tweet More Searched Than Paris Climate Agreement". Fortune. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  16. ^ Bump, Philip (July 5, 2019). "The problem with Trump's Revolutionary War airports isn't the airports". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2019. This inability to admit misstatements has no more extreme example than his infamous "covfefe" tweet from 2017.
  17. ^ Graham, David A. (September 5, 2019). "Trump's Most Pointless Lie". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 9, 2019. Not since "covfefe," a similarly absurdist episode, has Trump stuck so insistently to a pointless lie, though even that moment was over faster.
  18. ^ "Trump's Alabama Dorian debacle shows he refuses to be wrong". al.com. Associated Press. September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019. And even when Trump mistakenly tweeted the nonsensical word "covfefe" late one night, the president, instead of owning up to a typo or errant message, later sent Spicer to declare, "I think the president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant."
  19. ^ LaFrance, Adrienne (January 13, 2019). "Six Hours and Three Minutes of Internet Chaos". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  20. ^ Estrepa, Jessica (May 31, 2018). "Covfefe, one year later: How a late-night Trump tweet turned into a phenomenon". USA Today. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  21. ^ Gallucci, Nicole (June 1, 2017). "Words with Friends adds 'covfefe' to its dictionary, 'covfefe' is officially dead". Mashable. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  22. ^ Stevens, Heidi (October 18, 2017). "A covfefe by any other name ... might not have made dictionary.com's most-queried list". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  23. ^ Saunders, Tristram Fane (October 31, 2018). "Covfefe, kompromat, and mugwump: your guide to every new word in the 2018 Brewer's Dictionary". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Karoub, Jeff (December 30, 2017). "List bans "fake news," "covfefe" and "let me ask you this"". Denver Post. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  25. ^ Chhetri, Priyam (August 12, 2018). "No happy ending: Donald Trump has another 'covfefe' moment, asks FBI to give Andrew McCabe 'text massages'". Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide (MEAWW). Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  26. ^ Rozsa, Matthew (December 10, 2018). ""Smocking gun" is the new "covfefe": Twitter erupts after Trump misspells the same word twice". Salon. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  27. ^ McLean, Max (January 15, 2019). "'Hamberders and covfefe': Trump's latest misspelling amuses social media". Irish Independent. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  28. ^ Leach, Samantha (May 19, 2018). "Donald Trump Misspelled Melania's Name While Congratulating Her, and It's the 'Covfefe' of 2018". Glamour.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  29. ^ McLean, Max (June 13, 2019). "Twitter erupts after Donald Trump's Prince of Whales gaffe". Irish Independent. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  30. ^ "When Ministry Of Finance Has A Covfefe Moment". Outlook India. October 27, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  31. ^ "The most 2017 tweets of 2017". BBC News. December 21, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  32. ^ Blum, Sam (August 15, 2018). "Burger King Tweeted Something Super Weird & People Are Kind of Concerned". Thrillist. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  33. ^ Lowin, Rebekah (June 7, 2017). "'Covfefe' Could Live On As Beer or Coffee". foodandwine.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2019. It's a natural fit, after all; "covfefe" looks (and, depending on how you pronounce it, sounds) nearly identical to "coffee."
  34. ^ Faykus, Alyssa (July 5, 2019). "Covfefe Cafe aims to get people talking". Beaumont Enterprise. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  35. ^ Hallenbeck, Brent (February 1, 2019). "Covfefe in a can: We try Drop-In Brewing's 'No Collusion' Russian Imperial Coffee Stout". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  36. ^ Greene, Sydney C. (June 8, 2017). "Shaw's Tavern throws a 'covfefe' to watch the Comey testimony in D.C., draws line around the block by 9:15 a.m." USA Today. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  37. ^ Croteau, Scott J. (June 5, 2017). "Lalajava in Northborough brewing up a little fun with 'Covfefe Coffee' after President Donald J. Trump's tweet". MassLive. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  38. ^ Gordon, Audrey (September 27, 2017). "10 buzzworthy coffee cocktails around Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  39. ^ "Amul's witty take on Donald Trump's new word 'covfefe' is perfect!". Indian Express. December 3, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  40. ^ Helmer, Lizzie (June 4, 2019). "Here's the Footage From the UK Protests Trump Called 'Fake News'". Independent Journal Review. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  41. ^ Michelson, Noah (June 11, 2017). "Here Are Some Of The Best Signs From The Equality And Resist Marches". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  42. ^ Johnson, Ted (June 11, 2017). "LGBTQ Resist March Draws Heavily on Anger Over President Donald Trump". variety.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  43. ^ Clemens, Danny (November 21, 2018). "Yanny vs. Laurel, 'covfefe', Beyonce's twins and more moments that broke the internet". WPVI-TV. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  44. ^ H.R.2884 – COVFEFE Act of 2017, Actions Overview, Congress.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019.
  45. ^ Kulp, Patrick (May 31, 2017). "Of course 'covfefe' has already spawned a cottage industry of garbage swag". Mashable. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  46. ^ Dennis, Sarah (2017). "Cedar Rapids by Miguel Arteta (review)". Middle West Review. 4 (1): 199–201. doi:10.1353/mwr.2017.0081. S2CID 188964457. Although Raygun continues to release current events slogans beyond presidential elections (a recent shirt declares, "We have nothing to fear but covfefe"), the brand's primary offerings are local color slogans that simultaneously celebrate and satirize midwestern identity.
  47. ^ Millward, David (February 4, 2018). "Donald Trump leaves lasting 'covfefe' legacy as motorists immortalise presidential tweet on licence plates". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  48. ^ Lamm, Stephanie. "'Covfefe' on list of vanity license plates banned in Georgia". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Media Group. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  49. ^ Fagan, Kaylee (July 20, 2018). "Someone finally made a simple way to edit your tweets, inspired by President Trump's famous 'covfefe' typo". Business Insider. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  50. ^ Jaffrey, Mariam (March 4, 2019). "PRESIDENT TRUMP'S VIRAL TERM "COVFEFE" CANNOT BE USED AS A TRADEMARK, BOARD RULES". American University Business Law Review. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  51. ^ Kulik, Tom (March 11, 2019). "Trumped By 'Covfefe' II: Yet Another Reason NOT To Trademark Trending Names And Catchphrases". Above the Law. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  52. ^ Alloway, Tracy (September 8, 2019). "JPMorgan Creates 'Volfefe' Index to Track Trump Tweet Impact". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  53. ^ "Covfefe". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  54. ^ Finley, Bill (August 6, 2019). "Inside the Winner's Circle: Covfefe". Thoroughbred Daily News. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  55. ^ Carothers, Ren. "Future Stars Friday Spotlight: The True Meaning of Covfefe". breederscup.com. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  56. ^ Beaujon, Andrew (June 14, 2019). "6 Exhibits You Shouldn't Miss at the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library". Washingtonian. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  57. ^ Ivie, Devon (April 12, 2020). "SNL's Donald Trump Is Thrilled at America's Global Covfefe-19 Domination". Vulture. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  58. ^ "'SNL': Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump Calls Into Remote Edition of "Weekend Update"". The Hollywood Reporter. April 11, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  59. ^ "'SNL': Baldwin's Trump Delivers Commencement Speech to 'Class of COVID-19' (Video)". TheWrap. May 10, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  60. ^ Singman, Brooke (April 25, 2022). "Trump will not return to Twitter even as Elon Musk purchases platform, will begin using his own TRUTH Social". Fox News. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  61. ^ "Back with the banned: Do Twitter's exiles return under Musk?". Boston Herald. April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  62. ^ "Trump says he has no plans to rejoin Twitter after Musk reaches deal to buy platform". PBS NewsHour. April 25, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  63. ^ Saigol, Lina. "Trump Won't Be Returning to Twitter. But He's 'Back' on Truth Social". www.barrons.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
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