President Donald Trump has used his account on the social media platform Twitter to reach his millions of followers without the filter of the media or his spokespersons, but Tuesday night he did something totally bizarre with his account. And it lit the internet on fire.
While the tweet started normally, it ended abruptly and oddly.
Almost instantly, the word "covfefe," which according to some had never been tweeted before, became a hit. It was trending in the No. 1 slot on Tuesday evening. And to deepen the mystery, the tweet wasn't deleted, and no explanation was given for its strange existence.
So of course, the internet went wild.
There were coffee jokes:
Don't even tlakka to me until I've had my mourning cup of covfefe
— Eileen M. 🌝'Connell (@i_Lean) May 31, 2017
The best part of waking up is #covfefe in your cup.— Randy Rainbow (@Randy Rainbow)1496204872.0
And movie references:
All I see is an ocean of #Covfefe tweets. https://t.co/TgbZqdXev8— 🌹ShallWeXing🌹 (@🌹ShallWeXing🌹)1496211964.0
And literary references:
The world will end not with a bang, but with a covfefe.— Bess Kalb (@Bess Kalb)1496204303.0
And political references, of course:
When they go low, we covfefe.— billy eichner (@billy eichner)1496204473.0
I did not have #covfefe with that woman https://t.co/AQ2oQKAbHy— Raych (@Raych)1496211535.0
I fear that #covfefe is only distracting us from envionmentfefe, educationfefe, and the selling off of our democracyfefe— Jeff Cannata (@Jeff Cannata)1496211297.0
FDR: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
JFK: "Ask not what your country can do for you!"
Trump: #Covfefe pic.twitter.com/R3rxHsdqNR
— Andres (@TheAndresCorrea) May 31, 2017
If your covfefe lasts longer than four hours, call your doctor. #Covfefe https://t.co/vZNr2C0Hvp— Robot Joe Miller (@Robot Joe Miller)1496207636.0
Ask not what your covfefe can do for youvafoo, Ask what youvefefe can dovefe your covefefetry.— Ken Tremendous (@Ken Tremendous)1496204750.0
And general jokes:
TRUMP: Despite the constant negative press ME: COVFEFE https://t.co/PfA6xrwL4W— Tatered (@Tatered)1496204576.0
On a dark desert highway Cool wind in my hair Warm smell of covfefe Rising up through the air— Patton Oswalt (@Patton Oswalt)1496211877.0
what makes me saddest is that I know I'll never write anything funnier than #covfefe— Jimmy Kimmel (@Jimmy Kimmel)1496211300.0
Wait a second. By law, ALL presidential records are archived. #Covfefe is going to be in a Presidential Library until civilization falls.— Andrew McAfee (@Andrew McAfee)1496207207.0
New York's hottest nightclub is #Covfefe. It has everything: Russian entanglements, spray tans, creepy handshakes,… https://t.co/vvzyFIuehC— Sarah Rumpf (@Sarah Rumpf)1496206124.0
And that's how Trump conquered Twitter with one "covfefe."
The episode will no doubt spur new debates about the wisdom and efficacy of presidential tweeting.
