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Covfefe ( , ) is a word, widely presumed to be a
typographical error A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling or transposition error) made in the typing of printed or electronic material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual typesettin ...
, that
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
used in a viral tweet during his first term as
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. It quickly became an
Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
. Six minutes after midnight ( EDT) on May 31, 2017, Trump tweeted "Despite the constant negative press covfefe". He deleted the tweet six hours later. Many media outlets presumed that he had meant to type "coverage".
White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
Sean Spicer stated, "I think the President and a small group of people know exactly what he meant."


Initial tweet and public response

The tweet attracted intense attention in the news and on social media, quickly becoming a
viral phenomenon Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...
. Both the word and tweet produced a variety of cultural, economic, and social influences. For example, the
Volfefe index The Volfefe Index was a stock market index of volatility in market sentiment for US Treasury bonds caused by tweets by President Donald Trump. ''Bloomberg News'' observed Volfefe was created due to the statistical significance of Trump tweets ...
(for "volatility" and "covfefe"), created by
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
in 2019, measured the impact of President Trump's tweets on the U.S. bond yields. "Covfefe" was one of Trump's most famous tweets. "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, and created a viral
Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
on the morning of May 31. The
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
#covfefe had been used on the Internet 1.4 million times within 24 hours of Trump's tweet. 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!" 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." The
Google Search Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...
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. would withdraw from the agreement. 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'." An analyst for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Philip Bump, wrote in July 2019 that the covfefe tweet represented Trump's refusal to admit even minor misstatements. Other critics in the media expressed similar opinions.


Subsequent references

Writing for ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' in January 2019, journalist
Adrienne LaFrance Adrienne LaFrance is an American journalist, executive editor of ''The Atlantic'' and former editor of ''TheAtlantic.com''. Career LaFrance received her B.A. degree in journalism from Michigan State University and an M.S. in journalism from Bo ...
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." The covfefe
meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
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 ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' article noted: "But did the president know what he had wrought on U.S. culture? The memes. The songs. The jokes."


In language and politics

The popular word game '' Words with Friends'' added "covfefe" to its dictionary in June 2017. 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. ''
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New Edi ...
'' added an entry for "covfefe" to its 20th edition in October 2018.
Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. It enrolls approximately 1,600 students. Due to its proximity to the Canada–United States border, ...
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". Subsequent misspellings and mis-speakings by Trump have been compared in the media to the covfefe tweet. "Covfefe" is also often invoked when discussing gaffes made by other public figures, businesses, and organizations in public discourse. Other uses of "covfefe" involve word play on similarity with the word "coffee". Examples include a coffee shop called "Covfefe Café", a beer called "'No Collusion' Russian Imperial Coffee 'Covfefe' Stout", various covfefe coffee drinks, an alcoholic coffee cocktail "Covfefe", a coffee and tea ad by Amul, etc. Anti-Trump protesters at various events in 2019 also used signs featuring variations on the covfefe theme.


In law

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. It would have required the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
to preserve and store social media posts by the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the same day but saw no further congressional action. 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. Both supporters and opponents of Trump in 21 U.S. states obtained customized "Covfefe"
license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...
s by February 2018. The state of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
prohibits the use of this word on vanity license plates. A 2018
Google Chrome Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...
extension called Covfefe allows
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
users to correct misspellings in their earlier tweets. Upholding the denial of one such application, a January 2019 decision by Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the
USPTO The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Ale ...
concluded that the word "covfefe" was too commonly used in a variety of contexts and therefore cannot be trademarked for any specific product. At least 40
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
applications have been filed with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
for various kinds of covfefe-themed merchandise; none of those applications have been granted as of March 2019. Using inspiration from the covfefe tweet,
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
created a "
Volfefe index The Volfefe Index was a stock market index of volatility in market sentiment for US Treasury bonds caused by tweets by President Donald Trump. ''Bloomberg News'' observed Volfefe was created due to the statistical significance of Trump tweets ...
" in September 2019 to measure the impact of Trump's tweets on the U.S. bond yields. The name "volfefe" is a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of the words "volatility" and "covfefe".


In horse racing

A
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
filly born in 2016, named Covfefe, won several
graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...
s in 2018 and 2019, including the 2019 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She earned more than one million
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
.


In literature, art, and entertainment

A project of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'', the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library, features a piece dedicated to covfefe.
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
portrayed Trump on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''s "At Home" edition on April 11, 2020, to discuss the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, referring to it as "Covfefe-19" while drinking
Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2024, the Oakland, California-based company had approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. N ...
bleach that he called "COVID juice". The grand strategy video game '' Stellaris'' uses Covfefe as an
easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
, as one of the names that can be generated for a
star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravity, gravitational attraction. It may sometimes be used to refer to a single star. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally calle ...
on a map.


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. On April 29, 2022, Trump used the Covfefe meme in his second post to Truth Social, posting the message "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE".


See also

* Bushisms *
Donald Trump on social media Donald Trump's use of social media attracted attention worldwide since he joined Twitter in May 2009. Over nearly twelve years, Twitter use by Donald Trump, Trump tweeted around 57,000 times, including about 8,000 times during the Donald Tru ...
*
Hapax legomenon In corpus linguistics, a ''hapax legomenon'' ( also or ; ''hapax legomena''; sometimes abbreviated to ''hapax'', plural ''hapaxes'') is a word or an Fixed expression, expression that occurs only once within a context: either in the written re ...
* Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy *
List of Internet phenomena Internet phenomena are social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet, such as Internet memes, which include popular catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensations occur online, they tend to grow rapidly ...
* Use of Twitter by public figures


References


External links


Trump Twitter archive
Searchable database
Wayback Machine
Latest Wayback Machine Link In English {{Donald Trump 2010s in Internet culture 2017 in Internet culture 2017 neologisms 2017 quotations Donald Trump and social media First Trump administration controversies Donald Trump in popular culture Internet memes introduced in 2017 Mass media-related controversies in the United States Nonce words Nonsense Political Internet memes Political quotes Twitter controversies Error