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Home / World

Twitter fail as world asks Trump: What the hell does 'covfefe' mean?

By Debbie Schipp at news.com.au
news.com.auยท
31 May, 2017 05:48 PM3 mins to read

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Israeli ambassador to the US was caught putting his head in his hand after Trump implied that Israel is not in the Middle East. Source: whitehouse.gov

There's no such thing as bad "covfefe".

President Trump has proved he has not lost his sense of humour in office, challenging his audience to figure out what on earth "covfefe" means after his tweet sparked an internet firestorm.

"Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe"???" Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning local time after his mystery tweet sent the internet into meltdown. His original tweet had also been deleted from his account.

Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

It came after his earlier message sent just after midnight on Tuesday where the President tweeted: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe," in what was likely the beginning of a now-typical Twitter blast directed at the media.

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Trump's original #covfefe tweet went viral within minutes. Photo / Twitter
Trump's original #covfefe tweet went viral within minutes. Photo / Twitter

However no follow up was forthcoming and the unexplained message was retweeted 45,000 times in 45 minutes with speculation he had been left alone in the White House, or his phone had been snatched off him mid-140 characters.

In any case, the response from the Twitterati was swift, and brutal.

"OH MY GOD YOU DRUNK IDIOT" was the first reply from 'joke' twitter account @bdgrabinski, swiftly followed by "didn't they say your lawyers were handling all your tweets".

His attack continued across more than 15 missives in an hour, some counting how long Trump's tweet had been left up, others expressing concern that Trump might have nobody checking on him.

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"You OK Donald?" asked one respondent.

As others entered the fray, it seemed the Tweet was staying put. And gaining force.

Within half an hour, #covfefe had its own hashtag and Twitter handle.

Labour leader Andrew Little even got in on the action.

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In Auckland today. First covfefe pic.twitter.com/avp1ZhDGFX

— Andrew Little (@AndrewLittleMP) May 31, 2017

Others were wondering how to use the word correctly.

What is the correct pronunciation of #covfefe?

— Splinter (@splinter_news) May 31, 2017

And then just giving it a shot anyway.

It's now been 15 minutes and the President still hasn't deleted this tweet. Follow us for continuing live covfefe pic.twitter.com/TTp76McJQE

— Splinter (@splinter_news) May 31, 2017

Meanwhile, the memes were gathering force.

pic.twitter.com/eutyxeQmhS

— Rick ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ (@Rick4014) May 31, 2017

Retweeted Covfefe Christine (@TwentiesOrDie):

YOU get a #covfefe, and YOU get a covfefe! https://t.co/yHn7lyBzTm https://t.co/0lzIYuiIZJ

— Alexsandra Wright (@alexsandra8888) May 31, 2017

#Covfefe
Covfefe
Co pic.twitter.com/F9YQexgZbT

— Ira Wray (@wemetintheair) May 31, 2017

I've waited 25 years to tell you who killed Mary in my song, "Hazard." It was.... #covfefe

— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) May 31, 2017

And the President was proving his every word. even the typos, can pull a crowd.

I was legit going to bed an hour ago but then #covfefe happened ๐Ÿ˜ณ

— Samia Khan (@SamiaKhan) May 31, 2017

This hashtag is probably the best thing we've gotten out of the Trump presidency so far. #Covfefe pic.twitter.com/Jcr9GoVdZk

— #DREADpirate Twitchy Owl โ™ฟ๏ธ๐ŸŒ™โšก๏ธ (@TheLastMerlin) May 31, 2017

Let's just hope whatever #covfefe is, it's not catching.

Have a headache & I'm bloated. Gonna check WebMD hope its not #Covfefe ๐Ÿ˜’

— The Xoch (@ms_soulteroh) May 31, 2017

Braggadocious? Bigly? They've got nothing on Trump's #covfefe.

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Retweeted Matty Ice (@MattyIceUS):

Twitter wins the Internet today -- to celebrate we will be throwing bigly #Covfefe.

— Barbara (@kennedy81857) May 31, 2017
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